Hiring

via Parker:
And as we chuckle, a cartoon becomes reality:

Looking for work? Try the unemployment office. No, not for the job listings. The unemployment office is one place that's actually hiring these days.

Minnesota's workforce centers are seeing a booming business — thanks to eye-popping layoff numbers like those released Friday — and they are looking to add workers to help handle the crush.

The state is hiring 15 workers to conduct job search workshops, assess skills, assist with job searches or simply to provide face-to-face help to people trying to navigate the bureaucracy of joblessness. Those people will be added to the 85 currently in place to help job seekers at the state's 47 workforce centers.

Some 160,000 people in Minnesota are collecting unemployment benefits, a record high and double the number a year ago. That means a growing number of people are using the workforce centers to pore over job listings, talk to job counselors and use the resources as a starting place for a career transition.