Read more: Local, State, National, Business, Community, Unemployment, Monroe County, Jobs, Lay Offs
MISSOURI -- The latest numbers show 9.5 percent of the people in this country is looking for a job.
Here in the Tri-states, the numbers don't look much better.
The Illinois unemployment rate sits at 10.5 percent.
Iowa's unemployment is better at 6.2 percent.
Missouri hit the national average in June, with unemployment at about 9.5 percent.
Each percentage point represents tens of thousands of people flooding the job market right now.
Click here to take a more in-depth look at Missouri Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
Lifelong Monroe City resident Randy Parn was working as an industrial engineer until a week ago.
Now he's joined the ranks of folks looking for a job. And he's finding them crowded.
Parn said, "Right now, since a lot of other manufacturers let people go earlier this year, the market is kind of saturated and people are looking, but there's not a lot available right now."
Parn's not alone. In fact, Monroe County is suffering one of the highest unemployment rates in northeast Missouri sitting at 11.8 percent. That's more than doubled from what it was last year at this time - before companies like Intermet and Pace Industries began laying off workers.
It's the same story employees are hearing at the Missouri Career Center in Hannibal.
Workforce specialist Kim Cull with the Missouri Career Center said, "Job market is really tough right now."
Cull says last year, she'd see 12-hundred folks come through the doors here every month. Now it's more like three thousand. All of them are coming here in hopes of finding a new job or getting help in pursuing higher education or their GEDs. Since careers in industry and production are slow in this area right now, there's a huge emphasis on retraining for a different career.
cul said, "We do encourage people to look outside the box for a number of reasons because there may not be an opportunity in what they are trained in doing, but there might be something else and they may like it better. There are also opportunities in training and education, and more education can do nothing but improve your ability to become employed."
Like everyone else facing this competitive job market, Parn is not wasting any time. He's already searched every online job search engine he can find and is blanketing the country with his resume. He's staying optimistic...even though many jobs are far away from his hometown.
Do you have any advice for people looking for a job?
Parn said, "Stay positive. You have to provide for your family."
The career fields with the most jobs available right now are in healthcare and customer service.
There are a couple of job fairs coming up that you may want to take note of.
The first is at the Pike County, Missouri Fairgrounds east of Bowling Green on Highway 54.
It's on Thursday, August 27th from 10 a-m until 6 p-m.
Another is planned in Hannibal at the American Legion on Highway M-M on September 17th.
