For Edward McDaniel, being unemployed has been a rough patch in his professional life.
And while it feels like his circumstances are the exception, more and more job seekers are finding it increasingly difficult to compete in a job market flooded with qualified candidates.
“I can't understand why it so hard to get a job here. It’s the customer service capital,” McDaniel said.
After losing his job with Alltel customer service in 2008, McDaniel has been searching and says by his count, he's applied for more than 1,000 jobs and landed only a dozen interviews.
“Financial services representative, banker, cashier, fast food, grocery stores, gas stations – I’ve even applied as the sign waver,” McDaniel said.