PRESTONSBURG — The student center at Big Sandy Community and Technical College was filled with prospective employers and students eager to test the job market on Wednesday.

Students spent time talking with representatives from various businesses in the area, with some job interviews taking place the same day.

Job Fair Day, an annual event at the college, started at 9 a.m. for the future graduates and job seekers who took the time to visit with career professionals. Students and prospective employers from Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Martin and Pike Counties attended the event.

“The event was designed to stimulate interests of the graduating students as well as to show the career opportunities available to them in various industries,” said Vera Joiner, director of student activities. “It went extremely well. It was the first time that the job fair was back in Prestonsburg from the Mayo campus after three years.”

Joiner said that 21 vendors attended the fair along with 125 participants searching for jobs. While Joiner considers that the attendance was good for the current economic times, she envisions a job fair on a grander scale in the future.

“What I would love to see is a regional job fair in the area to let the community know what is available,” Joiner said. “That is the impact we want to see from this.”

A variety of possible employers were available for students to speak with, including United States Penitentiary Big Sandy, Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center, Highlands Regional Medical Center, Citizens National Bank, First Commonwealth Bank and various employment agencies.

According to Workforce Kentucky, a website directed by the Office of Employment and Training, the current state unemployment rate is 8.7 percent.

The organizers of the job fair event hope that the information and interviews provided by the businesses will help to curtail the jobless rate and place students and graduates of Big Sandy Community and Technical College in the workforce.