Odell McCain Jr. had a positive outlook for someone who lost his job at Castleberry's Food Co. last week.

"There are some things that I've always wanted to do, but I've never had the time," Mr. McCain said while in line at a job fair Tuesday at the Augusta State University athletic complex.

The former kosher business unit manager's job was eliminated with the sale of Castleberry's to a subsidiary of Hanover Food Co., which did not buy the plant, forcing more than 320 people to find new jobs.

On Tuesday, Mr. McCain applied for jobs with several area companies, including Urban Outfitters Inc., Automatic Data Processing Inc., The Augusta Chronicle and staffing agencies.

"I have a lot of faith. I don't live in fear," he said. He worked 20 years in manufacturing, the past two years with Castleberry's, and now he's back in the job market.

It is a job market that is not as rosy as it once was. Richmond County unemployment was 7.7 percent in July.

Mr. McCain joined more than 1,100 job seekers at the fair. Many said they are optimistic but that the market has been tough.

Sanrika Morris works full time at night as a residential counselor, but she is looking a part-time day job. She has been looking for retail and medical jobs for two months, she said.

"I heard some people have freezes on their hiring," she said.

Monet James is employed, but she would like a customer service or call center job. She spoke with five employers, including ADP.

"It's really hard, especially now. I used to be able to get a job so easily," Ms. James said. "A lot of people expect more of you."

Dovie Lewis has been looking for a customer service or administrative assistant position for a month. She filled out seven applications Tuesday.

"I do believe that I will be employed soon," she said. "I feel really good about this job fair. It's very helpful."

Brett Miller, the classified multimedia manager at The Chronicle , said the event drew a larger crowd than the job fair in March. Thirty-three employers participated then, while only 20 signed up for Tuesday's event.

"It's due in part to a lot of people just not hiring right now," Mr. Miller said.

Still, some companies are faring well. Urban Outfitters, a clothing and furniture retailer in Trenton, S.C., is expanding its call center and was hiring more than 100 in-bound customer service reps Tuesday. Starting pay was $9.50 per hour.

"We have already doubled our employee base in the last two years," said Erik Emmons, a human resources manager at Urban Outfitters.

ADP, a provider of business outsourcing solutions, was looking for payroll researchers and tech support specialists in Augusta.

"We currently have 350 people already employed with us. We're opening another office, and we'll be housing another 1,400 employees there," said Staci Houston, a corporate human resources recruiter.

The facility should be open by November and fully staffed by March or April, she said.