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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- In March companies advertised the most job openings since September 2008, according to a national report.

The report said it's the second straight month increase, which is a sign that hiring is likely to stay healthy in the upcoming months.

Officials with the Pikes Peak Workforce Center (PPWFC) said while the national report is promising, locally the numbers aren't looking quite as good.

"I sometimes get discouraged, the economy you know being so bad," Robert Lodge, a job seeker, said.

Lodge and dozens others filled the PPWFC Wednesday looking for any opportunities available.

"Right now anything, anything that's available," William Cherry, another job seeker, said.

Lodge agreed.

"Anything with benefits, or if it don't have benefits, I'm willing to work just about anywhere," Lodge said.

Colorado Springs' unemployment rate is 9.7 percent, and while the national numbers are improving, officials said it could take a little longer to see a positive change locally.

"Typically Colorado lags behind everybody else, and Colorado Springs lags behind Colorado," Duke Compton, a Business Specialist at PPWFC said. "We lagged behind with the recession, and it's good news to hear that the country's coming back, but we haven't quite seen that yet."

Compton said he's not sure why Colorado Springs always lags behind.

"Our area is typically not known for a lot of things like manufacturing, engineering, DOD contracts, and we do have a lot of those, and I don't think people are looking to come here, and they don't know what a great place Colorado Springs can be for family and economy," Compton said.

Officials said the outlook for teenagers and college graduates is especially bleak, but add it's not hopeless.

"The only problem is that there are jobs for the summer that adults are taking on a temporary basis when they have to feed their families, to try to meet those bills and housing costs and all that, but there are jobs out there," Compton said. "I've posted about 12-15 jobs for youth for the summer."

Compton said he has seen an increase in job postings, but added they aren't where they need to be yet.

"There's a lot of landscaping right now. It's that time of year, and so landscaping companies are coming in and looking for people to work through the summer, and sometimes they keep them for snow and all that, and then I'm seeing some DOD contractors coming through with jobs, engineering jobs, the only problem with those is the clearance that's required for them, and then some construction jobs and just all over the board," Compton said.

Compton said he expects Colorado's numbers to eventually catch up with the national numbers, and job seekers just have to keep looking, and not give up.

"I think if they're discouraged, one thing is, don't be," Compton said. "The biggest thing you can do is continue to do job search, continue looking for jobs, and sometimes take a job, and it's hard to do I know, but take that entry level. You never know where it's gonna go. The more you do that, the more you show your enthusiasm to an employer that you're willing to start at the bottom and work your way up."

He also recommended taking advantage of the help that is out there like the PPWFC.

"If they think their resume is bad we have workshops here, absolutely free," Compton said. "We have mock interviews, we actually tape them and see what they look like, we also have resume righting with an 'R', is your resume right? So all these are free to people who register with the workforce, which is free."

Compton said looking for a job is a full time job in itself, and if jobseekers aren't spending eight hours a day searching, they're not doing enough.