"Counting heads" census jobs end, so many need work again

TAMPA -  Some of the unemployed population now includes former census workers, and a few showed up to a job fair today.

"I've been unemployed for about a year and a half," Marry Hammer said. "I've been scratching, taking small jobs cleaning houses, cleaning offices," she continued.

Since Hammer lost her job in human resources, she has done everything she could do to hold on to her house. For the last few months, she has helped count heads for the census.

"We went out to the doors and did mapping when we went out to the house and asked the people at the residence how many people lived on the property," Hammer said.

Now that the counting is complete, Hammer, along with nearly 700,000 others across the country, is looking for work again.
"You've got to go out there and network with people," Hammer said.

Hammer met many potential employers at the job fair put on my Job News Tampa. USAA, a financial services company, have a lot of slots to fill.

"We're looking to hire over the next several months about 100 positions," David McGilvery with USAA said.

Hammer talked with representatives from USAA and even if she is not one of the new hires, she is confident her persistence will pay off.

"I've almost lost my home, but I'm fighting, and as long as you keep fighting and don't give up, you'll be able to succeed," Hammer said.