MIAMI -- More than 1,000 jobseekers showed up to a job fair at Miami-Dade College’s North Campus Tuesday for a chance to meet with recruiters.

"I've been here since 5 o'clock, since early this morning," Janay Hardwick told Local 10's Jen Herrera.

Hardwick brought her 2-year-old daughter with her to the job fair as she looked for a job.

The career fair is an annual event for the college but this year, the economic downturn and massive job losses have increased the number of people who turned up for the event. Miami-Dade College President Dr. Jose Vicente said that this year, the turnout of people looking for work has increased by 500 percent.

“It’s been six and half months. I've been looking for a job and it’s getting ridiculous," said applicant Alex Barrio.

Hardwick has been looking for work for two months, and she hopes that after the job fair, things will start to get better.

"It's been hard," Hardwick said.

Last year, 100 companies were on hand to greet the pool of jobseekers. This year, only 40 companies participated in the event.

Many of the companies are in recession-proof fields like nursing, education and public safety. They included the Florida Highway Patrol, the Davie Police Department and Wachovia.

Even Walt Disney World was on hand after recently shedding 5 percent of its workforce and offering buyouts to hundreds more of its employees.

“There are still jobs there and it’s a very fun program," said Dayo Graham, a Disney recruiter.

The two-day job fair will continue Wednesday morning from 9 a.m. until noon on the college campus, located at 11380 NW 27th Ave. in northwest Miami-Dade County.