Struggling vets get job help

By Solomon Leach

More than a decade after being discharged from the Navy, Michael Wiggins is still in survival mode – as an unemployed computer technician.

“I’m getting calls, but there’s just no follow-up,” said the 38-year-old, who’s been out of work for nearly four months. “I’m looking for anything. I might become a travel agent.”

Wiggins was among roughly 300 veterans for hire at a job fair hosted by RecruitMilitary Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. While they weren’t breaking down the door as some other cities have seen during the recession, the candidates were just as hungry.

PHOTO: Michael Wiggins picks up a brochure at a job fair for military veterans Thursday in South Philadelphia.
Metro: Rikard Larma

“I’m looking for anything. I might become a travel agent.”
Wiggins says.

“The economy hit everybody,” said Wiggins, a Southwest Philadelphia resident, who is using his unemployment funds to pay his mortgage. “It’s nothing you can do about it.”

About 35 companies and institutions turned out to advertise opportunities despite the economic climate, including law enforcement agencies, manufacturers and insurance companies. Organizers with Ohio-based RecruitMilitary said it was one of three fairs in the Philadelphia-area this year geared towards veterans, and among 68 nationwide.

Dave Most, a Naval reserve from Morrisville who was stationed in Iraq, is searching for a way to support his wife and 15-month-old daughter. Like Wiggins, his company’s contract at the Philadelphia Naval Business District has run out, leaving him in a tight spot.

“The market’s horrendous,” said Most, who’s also had a career in information technology. “I can’t even get voluntary recall because there are so many other reserves out of work and they’re trying to do the same thing.”
Solomon D. Leach