North Texas Workers Turning To Seasonal Jobs

CBS 11's Selena Hernandez Reports:

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The national job report is out and the numbers are grim. The country's unemployment rate is 9.6-percent and some 95,000 jobs were lost last month.

In North Texas, the rates are still discouraging, especially for those desperately searching for work. Yet, not all is gloom - seasonal jobs and the upcoming Super Bowl hold promise of producing jobs.

"Being unemployed, having no work, no one calling back, it's been real rough," job seeker Joseph Winzer said.

Winzer is among a room full of people looking for a job at the Fort Worth workforce help center. For job seekers, the latest job numbers are dismal, but they are the faces behind the facts. Winzer has been looking for a job for about a year. A difficult task as he cares for his young son.

"You try to think it's going to get better, but you think damn, when's it going to get better?," Winzer asked. "It's been going on for a few years."

In Tarrant County, the unemployment rate as of August is 8.3, unchanged since last year. It's slightly lower than Dallas County's rate of 8.4 - up from last year.

"It's not just me looking - it's a whole bunch of people," Winzer said. "You're battling, scrapping for work."

Those desperately looking for work tell us they're banking on finding one as retailers begin their push for seasonal help, and Workforce Solutions of Fort Worth reports this year, retailers aren't the only ones hiring.

"We're all looking forward to the Super Bowl. You're going to be seeing some job growth in that area," Christina Mason with Tarrant County Workforce Solutions said.

Hotels and restaurants will be hiring for the Super Bowl, but there's also a need for people with technical skills. Although some seekers may have lost their jobs, they haven't lost their hope.

"I can't stay down - I got a son I got to take care of. I can't fail for him," Winzer said.

Eva Deluna lost her job last month. She said she's willing to take a 50-percent pay cut just to earn some money.

"At times it can be discouraging but all we can do is try and just keep trying."

"There's a job out there with my name on it. So I have to keep looking until I find it," Arshalon Powell said.

Tarrant County numbers aren't great, but North Texas is still faring better than most. In Los Angeles for example, the jobless rate is at 13-percent.