Job seekers met with potential employers yesterday at the Fall Job Fair, held at Jim Thorpe Memorial Hall.

The event was coordinated by Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corporation and Pa Career Link who joined forces to help reduce the unemployment rate in Carbon County.At 11 a.m., when doors opened, there was a long line of job seekers registering for entrance. Once inside, there were rows upon rows of employers seeking to hire people for a variety of positions.For those seeking a military position, the Army and Army National Guard were hoping to recruit people ages 17 to 35 years old."We'll take as many as we can," said Sgt. Matthew Crosier of the Hazleton Army Recruiting Station.For those not military minded, they could work for the U.S. Penitentiary - Canaan. U.S. Penitentiary was seeking job applicants for jobs in 114 institutions around the country from Hawaii to Pennsylvania. The list of job openings includes correctional officers, nurses, radiologists, EMTs, teachers and warehouse workers.There were also plenty of opportunities for job seekers to gain a information about higher education or engage in job training classes.Carbon Career and Technical Institute offered information on GEDs, welding and nursing.Francis Kluck of CCTI said that gaining education is a great tool to help people seeking jobs.Also offering job training was Jason Deiter of Welder Training and Testing Institute. He said the school has short and long term classes in welding at its Allentown location.Lehigh Carbon Community College and Northampton Community College and Primtech Training also had information on available classes.Nestle Purina Pet Care Co. was seeking people who had electrical skills, plus who could use forklifts or work as a fork lift jockey."We have three union and three non-union positions available," said Dean Emmert, supervisor at Nestle Purina Pet Care Co.Abacus Corporation said that it has openings in its warehouses in Hazleton and Bethlehem for ware house jockeys, fork lift operators and clerical positions."We need people to unload trucks and work a forklift," said Denise Carrullo of Abacus Corp.Ron Blissard of KME/Kovatch Fire Apparatus of Nesquehoning said Kovatch was adding a second and third shift and needs fabricators. He noted there are 26 positions available."We expanding," said Blissard. "We also need electricians and welders."Pencor Services Human Resources Director Craig Vakiener said that customer care representatives and tech support representatives are needed to provide customer services to customers via telephone, plus he said the company is looking to hire reporters for TV-13 and programmers for PenTeleData."We need web developers at PenTeleData, plus line cooks at Roadie's Restaurant at Penn's Peak," added Vakiener.Cynthia Farkas and Sue Fezenko were there representing Split Rock Lodge. Split Rock Lodge is seeking to hire waitstaff, banquet servers, dishwashers and many more positions are available.C&S Wholesale Groceries of Bethlehem offered information on jobs in its warehouse. The job pays $15.50 an hour to build pallets. They pay $13 an hour to employees who undergo six weeks of training and then are paid the full rate. The job is 40 hours a week with 10 hour days.For those seeking a job in retail, Laura Goad of Cabela's was offering information on sales floor jobs in clothing, camping, hunting and fire arms. She said there are also positions available to work at the warehouse, in maintenance and work as a cashier.Mary Ellen Ogozalek of PA CareerLink said she was really excited to see new presenters and see the many people who were looking for work interacting at the job fair."They are seriously looking for work," said Ogozalek.Barbara Charles also of PA CareerLink said that PA CareerLink Link is more than a job seeking service. She said PA CareerLink offer workshops, help with resumes and help with navigating websites."We have a lot of resources available for job seekers," said Charles. "We offer fax machines, copies of letters of reference and for those who do not have computers, we offer computers for use and classes for basic computer skills. We help you file claims and we offer civil service seminars."PA Career Link is located at 69 Broadway, Jim Thorpe. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.