BY JOHN ECKBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
J. Terry Turner laced his "Big - Tall" tie into a Windsor knot Wednesday morning, slipped into polished loafers and a blue blazer and came to Hyde Park from Dayton, Ohio, to find a future and a job.
The unemployed communications specialist, whose career included stints at the Washington Post and Wisconsin State Journal, left the job fair shortly after lunch. It was sponsored by the Hyde Park Job Search Focus Group at Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church.
He had a job interview and would not be late. He was not optimistic about his immediate chances for work, despite an economy in Southwest Ohio that has companies begging for good workers.
"Companies don't want to hire anyone who is older," said Mr. Turner, 53, as he recounted his 90 days of unemployment. "I've got a few leads. I came to Ohio from Washington (D.C.) because I wanted a lifestyle change.
"I was told I would have a hard time finding a job but I didn't believe it. Now I'm a believer."
In August, the jobless rate for the 12-county metropolitan area was 3.2 percent, well below the current national rate of 4.7 percent. That low rate does not necessarily translate into jobs for older workers.
Through good economic times and bad, this focus group has held a job fair twice a year to match up prospective employers and potential employees. The organization meets weekly at the church and about 100 attend and talk about which companies are hiring and which are not.
National and local unemployment percentages don't mean a thing when you are an experienced, middle-aged job-seeker in a new or old career, said Felicity White, a former trust officer and portfolio manager for Fifth Third Bank.
"I think some companies wonder why they should hire a 40-year-old when they can hire a 22-year-old and pay them half as much," she said. "I think even in their 40s, people feel age discrimination, especially if they are making a career change or are starting over." Attending the fair was not depressing, she said.
"It's uplifting. These are people who are doing something about their situation," she said.
Kathy Nienaber, a recruiting specialist for American Express Financial Advisors Inc., said she hires middle-aged workers to become licensed personal financial advisers because of their work ethic. "They work hard," she said.
The job fair was crowded through the morning and at lunchtime, she said, probably because many workers might believe they would soon be laid off and came to scout new directions.
Many who talked with potential employers were former employees at Mercantile Stores Co. Inc. who were idled when the company was bought by Dillards Inc.
