COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- More than 100 new jobs are about to be created in Colorado Springs as a new retail store prepares to open its doors.
The new business is a Kohl's department store. It will be located on the city's north side off of Nevada Avenue.
Company officials said they are looking to hire 150 people for part-time positions to include everything from customer service to early morning stocking.
Monday the company held a job fair in Colorado Springs for those interested in applying.
"I am just out here looking for a job, trying to take care of my family and my kids, put food in their mouths and make a decent living as an honest person," Shane Ross said.
Ross was recently laid off and has spent the past week looking for new work.
Ross, along with hundreds of others, waited Monday for an interview hoping to be hired for a position at the new Kohl's. Many said this is just one of dozens of jobs they have applied for.
"It has been really hard to find a job because so many people do not have a job, for one, and the second is all those people are then applying for the jobs that are available," Anthony Richards said.
Officials with the Pikes Peak Workforce Center (PPWFC) said they are not surprised by the job fair's turnout, and added their office is filled with people every day looking for work.
And with Colorado's unemployment rate holding steady at 7.2 percent, they said it is hard to estimate when things are going to get better.
"Companies and employers have been cautious in this environment, so they are a little cautious of gearing back up too quickly, but we hope with every passing week and month they will translate new optimism into new jobs," said Dana Rodenbaugh, vice president of PPWFC.
As for Ross and the hundreds of others who were applying for a job at the new Kohl's, they said all they can do is remain optimistic and continue to look for jobs around every corner.
"Whatever you got to do nowadays is what you got to do," Ross said.
Job fair times and locations:
Tuesday, January 12, 12:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 13, 8:45 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 14, 12:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Marriott - Colorado Springs
5580 Tech Center Drive
Colorado Springs
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