PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Each year the Career Source Gulf Coast partners with several local colleges and organizations to host the Bay County Job Fair.

This year was the 36th one and there was a wide variety of options for attendees.

“We said initially hundreds of jobs is really thousands of jobs here available today,” Career Source communications manager Becky Samarripa said. “These are mostly hiring here in this region, some across the Panhandle. There are also some federal jobs that are here that may give you other opportunities across the nation as well.”

With over 70 employers, the networking opportunities were endless at the job fair.

“This is a great opportunity to connect employers and job seekers and there’s a high demand for employees by employers right now there’s many jobs available,” Samarripa said. “We want to help them but also job seekers are here to improve their careers. Often when they make career changes, they’re getting a higher wage, better benefits, better work, work-life balance.”

One employer said he was having a successful day with potential candidates and believes people getting jobs today is extremely important given the state of the economy.

“It’s been great, we hit the high school job fairs last year and not quite the crowd that we have here today, it’s a much more mature crowd,” employer David Cornett said. “I think everyone’s just struggling with the economy right now and everyone’s looking to try to better themselves and this is just a room full of people who are exactly what they’re looking for.”

Tanner Sandell visited several tables at the event and said this event is great for the community.

“There were so many great businesses coming out here today, so I knew I had to come check it out with this great job fair, I think it’s an awesome opportunity for all of us locals to look and see what’s really here in Panama City,” Sandell said. “I got so many papers from so many different businesses that I feel like it’s going to be a great opportunity when I start making applications.”

Some employers gave on-the-spot interviews and had positions they were hiring for on Saturday. If you received a job offer there was a bell you rang to celebrate the accomplishment.

If you missed out on Satrday’s event the Career Source Gulf Coast helps people find jobs year-round. Click here to learn more.