They had business suits on their backs, briefcases in their hands and desperation on their faces.
Thousands of job seekers formed a virtual bread line around two Chelsea blocks yesterday for a chance to meet recruiters and drop off résumés.
Careerbuilder.com job-fair organizers said a diverse crowd of about 2,300 – many the victims of layoffs – crammed the event hoping for a break.
Each of the 40 booths inside the Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street had a stack of résumés on the table and a line of hopefuls.
“It was the busiest event of the year so far,” said Careerbuilder.com spokeswoman Jennifer Grasz.
On a day that saw the Dow dive another 733 points, more than 100 former employees of collapsed Wall Street titan Lehman Brothers found themselves lining up for more than an hour.
“It sounded like they were just beginning their job search and they didn’t look desperate yet,” said Roy Laverty, a recruiter looking to place workers in call centers.
The strong job-fair showing reflected city Comptroller William Thompson’s grim forecast Tuesday that the city economy could see 165,000 jobs lost in the next two years.
“The number of attendees at our career fairs this year has increased, on average, around 33 percent compared to 2007,” Grasz said.
A wide range of companies had representatives at the fair, including the MTA, MetLife, AFLAC and the US Capitol police.
Even the government of Alberta, Canada, had a booth, seeking health-care professionals, engineers and architects.
“Alberta is experiencing strong economic growth,” said Sorcha McGinnis, spokeswoman for Alberta Employment and Immigration. “We have labor shortages across a number of sectors.”
The province expects to have a booth at several more fairs. The next local CareerBuilder event will take place Wednesday in Voorhees, NJ.
Former JFK Airport baggage handler Anderson Finley, 54, had no luck yesterday.
He blames Wall Street failures for the economic crisis affecting people from all walks of life.
“The stock market is in bad shape, banks aren’t lending anybody any money, so it trickles down to everyone,” said the father of two, who came up empty at the fair.
Finley, who was laid off six months ago, said his family has been forced to skimp on electricity, clip coupons and stop eating out.
“My family had to cut back on everything,” he said. “We cook more and we’re not spending money on anything unless we have to.
“It’s pretty rough out here.”