Last week,

thousands of Fayette Countians used the Labor Day holiday as final celebration

of summer.

Kids swam in

pools, while their parents grilled dogs and burgers on backyard grills

and talked about the big college football weekend or complained about

their jobs.

But for a growing

segment of the population, Monday's Labor Day holiday was just another

day. They might have celebrated the end of the summer, but when Tuesday

morning arrived, they began the often-frightening process of finding a

job.

While some

national indicators seem to be pointing towards an upturn in the economy,

many in Fayette County are still doing the daily tasks of filling out

applications and searching for jobs on the Internet.

Preliminary

figures from the Georgia Department of Labor show the county with a 3.4

percent jobless rate in July, which is up from 3.2 percent in June.

The county

used to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state, but the

downsizing of airlines has dealt a crippling blow to the economy.

One person

who moved to Fayette County and pursue the American Dream, but discovered

a bump in the road, is Tim Rudzinski.

Rudzinski moved

to the county in 1997 from Minnesota to take a job as an analyst with

Northwest Airlines. Everything seemed to be go according to his plane

until that fateful day in September, 2001.

"Right

after 9/11, I was laid off for a week, and began wondering how I was going

to pay my bills," he said.

Rudzinski began

cutting down on his expenses, such as selling cars and getting ready for

what he know would eventually happen.

"On Dec.

31, 2002, I was permanently laid off. It's really difficult starting over

after being with a company 13 years," he said.

As he's scoured

the region looking for jobs, Rudzinski is finding that most jobs pay half

his former airline salary and don't offer nearly the benefits.

But through

it all, he's remained upbeat about the process.

"You just

don't get anywhere being negative," he said.

Rudzinski is

looking at retail opportunities to help pay the bills, but has also adopted

a different approach to his spending.

"We do

a lot of discount shopping and head to farmer's markets and buy in bulk.

We're big on 'buy one, get one free,'" he said.

Another resident

who suffered the shock of losing his job, but who has had more luck, is

Phillip Rogers.

"I was

downsized due to cost-cutting in April 2002. I was a plant manager for

a building materials company based in Cobb County. After 9/11, our business

went south as we depended heavily on the hotel, entertainment and commercial

business. It was not until June before I landed a position. Those 14 months

were painful to respond to ad after ad, whether it was on the Internet

or local newspapers, with no response to the sent résumé,"

he said.

Rogers found

his new position by something headhunters constantly advocate: networking.

"Networking

is talking to people; neighbors, friends, enemies, strangers everyone,

with the prospect that they may know someone who may someone elsewithin

a specific company or industry to gain advice in your job search. Twenty

years ago, if someone lost their job, they didn't want to tell anyone.

Today, you tell everyone," Rogers said.

One of the

best sources for networking that Rogers discovered was the weekly meeting

of Job-seekers held every Friday morning from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Longhorn

Restaurant in Peachtree City.

The group is

led by Dave O'Farrell, a skilled trainer and counselor for business professionals

in the new mode of job search. Rogers said practical job search information

is given for free along with Christian fellowship and encouragement.

"I also

gained help through the Career Crossroads program at New Hope Baptist

Church in Fayetteville lead by Gary Tye.This group meets monthly with

a featured speaker in attendance on a practical job search topic,"

he said.

Both men emphasize

staying positive through what can be one of the most arduous ordeals in

life.

"You just

have to keep up your confidence," said Rudzinski.