Why more people feel now's the time to seek a job

WASHINGTON — A Miami woman who exhausted her unemployment aid needs to pay bills. A Phoenix job-seeker wants a greater sense of purpose. A Boston woman has heard that hiring is picking up.

The economy absorbed a flood of 805,000 new job-seekers last month — the sharpest monthly influx in seven years. They were driven by economic need, renewed optimism and evidence that more employers are hiring.

They're right. Companies added a net total of 290,000 jobs in April, the most in four years. Yet so many people poured into the work force that they drove up the unemployment rate from 9.7 percent to 9.9 percent.

Hundreds of thousands more will likely join them in the coming months, drawn by the improving economy and the possibility that Congress won't continually extend unemployment benefits. Their influx would send the unemployment rate back into double digits before it's likely to decline. And it will keep competition for jobs intense.

But those who have streamed into the labor force feel they can't wait any longer. They are people like Laura Gonzalez of Miami, whose on-again job hunt is the product of necessity. Her unemployment benefits cut off in April.

Gonzalez felt disheartened after being laid off from her job as an associate at an investment company early last year. At times, she stopped looking for work.

In the past few weeks, in need of money to pay for food and rent, she began looking more actively. She's applied for about 10 jobs a day over the past month.

"As much as they say there's new jobs out there, I don't see a turnaround at all," says Gonzalez, 28.

Neither does Julie Anderocci of Phoenix.

Six weeks ago, she lost her job as a customer service rep for Medicaid. For the first month, she mainly slept and ate. She was too upset to consider looking for work.

Now, besides needing money, Anderocci says she yearns for the pride and fulfillment a new job would bring. It isn't always easy to persevere, she finds.

"I'm working on being optimistic on finding a job — that's a job in itself," Anderocci says.

To try to stay positive about her search, she began volunteering at an animal rescue shelter.

"Looking for work at my age is the most stressful thing you can think of," says Anderocci, 56.