Four-hundred-and-sixty people sat down for a two-hour entrance exam between Friday and Monday at Kennesaw State University in pursuit of five entry-level jobs with the Marietta Fire Department.
They were more than aspiring firefighters, though. They were economic indicators, and their strong number reveals a still-hurting economy.
In all, 749 people applied for the firefighter jobs, and more than 800 originally expressed their interest in the positions to the Fire Department.
"We had people who had construction jobs who were trying to improve themselves and find more steady work. We had someone with Savannah Fire [Department] who was trying to transfer up here. We had as many reasons as there were applicants," said Chris Whitmire, an assistant chief with the department.
"This was fairly dramatic this time," said Miriam Corbin, the employment manager for the city of Marietta.
Jobless numbers released on Friday show that the nation’s unemployment rate remained steady at 9.5 percent, despite the addition of about 71,000 private-sector jobsto the economy in July, according to The Associated Press. Georgia's unemployment rate for June was 10 percent, according to the most recent regional data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The overwhelming number of firefighter applicants in Marietta illustrates the current economic outlook, said Rajeev Dhawan, an economist at Georgia State University.
The entry-level firefighter EMT positions available in Marietta pay about $34,000 annually. The salary increases some for people with some fire or EMT experience.
"When the unemployment rate is 9.5 percent to 10 percent you have a lot of people looking for a job. A firefighter job with benefits is a well-paying job, so it is not surprising that a lot of people are applying," Dhawan said. "That is one aspect that tells us that the economy is still soft."
Overall, the applicant pool for the Marietta fire jobs was a mixture of experience and non-experienced people, including some with military backgrounds, department officials said. Their former military jobs make them a good fit for new employment, Dhawan said, because many times they are younger, fitter, can be easily trained and have some experience already.
Within the past 10 months, Cobb County has hired 34 firefighters for its Fire Department, Lt. Dan Dupree said. The first 10 are set to graduate from training this month, and the remaining 24 will graduate toward the end of the year.
Gwinnett County Fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said his department typically receives a large number of applications.
"During a recent two-week job posting, we received 979 applications," he said. "It is difficult to determine whether the current economic situation has played a part in this number or not.”
DeKalb County is a likely spot for job seekers to turn next. The county Fire Department is hiring fire medics. In all, the county will try to fill 137 positions, including 66 vacancies in the Police Department, during a job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce St. in Decatur.
Marietta Fire Department employment
Year: 2007
No. of available positions: 10
No. of applicants: 171
No. of people tested: 113
Year: 2008
No. of available positions: 10
No. of applicants: 485
No. of people tested: 318
Year: 2010
No. of available positions: 5
No. of applicants: 749
No. of people tested: 460
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