Labor secretary visits Howard County

Columbia, MD - Labor Secretary Hilda Solis chose Howard County this Labor Day weekend to thank firefighters for their work in public safety. Secretary Solis went on a ride-along, climbed to the top of a ladder truck, and had a traditional chili dinner at Banneker Fire Station in Columbia.

"It just shows you how technology and advancements have actually helped to prevent lives being lost," said Secretary Solis.

Preventing job loss and getting people back to work is the secretary's hot agenda. Howard County falls well below the national unemployment numbers.

However, just a few miles from where she was speaking, Betty Griffith and Debbi Reid, mother and daughter, were both laid off in the past year. They're relaxing this Labor Day weekend at Centennial Park, but landing a job and trying to stay afloat is all-consuming.

"It's different than anything we ever imagined, so we're just keeping a good, positive attitude," said Reid.

Griffith and Reid agree there's plenty of help for the unemployed, like the Affordable Homes Program that reduces a mortgage payment, but they say the number of job opportunities needs to expand.

"If you're looking for help, there is a lot. It's just so many people fighting over the same jobs," said Red.

"They just have to make more jobs available or either they need to teach people how to obtain these jobs. It's not the same as it used to be where you would just send in a resume and somebody would contact you. You don't even hear from anybody," said Griffith.

Secretary Solis says 90,000 jobs have been created over the past 8 months, but she says congress needs to be more supportive of small businesses.

"The real incentive here is to create jobs, tax breaks for small businesses, entrepreneurs who actually hire up people. The federal government doesn't hire up people. It's small businesses and those businesses that know that that's the engine of growth," said Secretary Solis.

The labor secretary will join President Barack Obama on Labor Day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They're expected to address a large group of union workers and their families.