(MOBILE, Ala.) Nov. 20 - Mobile's unemployment rate is higher than the national average, and people are crowding Alabama Career Center booths.
Michelle Anderson went to the career center Friday, looking for a better opportunity.
"I work at McDonald's, and they scheduled me one or two days a week. I can't do that," Anderson said. "I have to have, you know, some more money in my pocket."
For many others, the money flow has stopped all together. More than 20,000 people are unemployed in Mobile County, bringing the unemployment rate to 11 percent. The statewide unemployment rate is 10.9 percent.
"What you see now is a broader spectrum of people that's out of work," Derrick Turner, Alabama Career Center, said. Turner helps people with their searches. He's not surprised the unemployment rate has grown. It's a trend he started to see in September of last year.
The people he sees now come from all kinds of industries.
"They're not being choosy," Turner said. "Whatever is available is what you hear a lot of. We try to get people to focus on a specific type. But unfortunately when your bills are due, you've got to find any employment that's available."
The problem is there are not a lot of positions available, and people like Anderson are feeling the pressure of competition.
"It is kind of hard because I see a lot of people in here looking for jobs," Anderson said.
