The Lawrence County Workforce Development Resource Center and the West Virginia Job Service will join forces Wednesday to sponsor a job fair at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, W.Va.

More than 100 employers throughout the Tri-State are expected to take part in the fair, according to WDRC job developer Eva Christian. More than 500 job seekers are expected to attend

"Last year when we had our job fair here, we had 50 employers and West Virginia had about 60. So this year, we're hoping to have more than a hundred," Christian said. "This is the first year we've combined with another state. This is something we've talked about for the last two years, so we met with Kentucky and West Virginia in 2001. Last year it wasn't feasible for us to do it, but we made a commitment to look harder at it this year."

Christian said she understands that many job seekers have been daunted in their efforts to find work by recent layoffs and facility closings in the area. In spite of the bad news, hope of finding meaningful employment remains. The job fair is the first step toward finding it, she said.

"Lots of people think that there are not jobs available, but we do have them. Lots of people are hiring," Christian said. "Because we've had so many layoffs and then the one that just took place with Applied Cards, certainly that affects the mood of the community. When they come to the WDRC, they can see the bulletin boards and the resources we can provide."

The job fair will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and transportation from Ironton will be provided. For more information, call the WDRC at 532-3140.