At Horizonte, 18-year-old Bianca Rivas wants to set an example for her younger sisters. Daisy Zavala, 19, doesn't want any more interviews to end because she doesn't have a diploma.

A credit crisis led by the meltdown of some large financial companies is tightening the job market, and employers can be more selective in their hires.

Utah's unemployment rate increased to 3.7 percent in August, up from 3.5 percent in July. The construction industry alone was down 14,400 jobs compared to August 2007.

Schools are taking in many laid-off workers. The English Language Center of Cache Valley, for example, has enrolled dozens of the 630 workers who lost their jobs when La-Z-Boy announced last spring that it was closing its Tremonton plant, center co-director Katie Jensen said. The nonprofit group helps immigrants learn to speak, read and write in English, often to prepare for GED courses provided through the school districts.

Many new enrollees were once Cambodian refugees who had accumulated little or no English literacy over the years, Jensen said. As a result, the center has altered lessons to include lower-level math skills to prepare students for GED courses. The center's budget, largely reliant on philanthropy, is strained.

"The big push now is to get these people to get their GEDs," required by many area employers, Jensen said of the 35 former La-Z-Boy workers currently enrolled — a number expected to double when fall courses begin next month. "They are making use of every single hour they're here. When I see people doing that, I want to bend over backwards to help them."

The students are happy to take the help. And while some, like Mayorga and Hurricane Katrina evacuee Reginald Allen are out of work, they see brighter days ahead. Allen, now of Salt Lake City, hopes to earn his diploma, then get a culinary arts certificate. Mayorga hopes to become a teacher's aide.

Sandra Quintanilla, who works in hospital housekeeping, wants to become a certified nursing assistant.

"I want a better life," she said. "I want to do something better."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com