As many as 40 people a day, most of them women, visit the San José Municipality's Bolsa de Empleo employment program in search of a new job, according to the program's coordinator and only employee, Viviana Sánchez.

The Bolsa aims to put employers in touch with qualified employees. These days, however, Sánchez said, a drop in companies' job offerings has made it harder to find a match for would-be workers.

Sánchez said about 170 jobless people sought her help in January alone during the office's hours of 8 to 11 a.m. Most of them were looking for skilled administrative jobs, she said.

Jeremy Barquero, 25, visited Sánchez's office Monday, saying he hadn't found a new job since being let go from HSBC bank in November. “I never thought it would take this long,” he said.

The office is located in the Municipality building on Avenida 10, and can be contacted at 2295-6060 or by e-mail at intermediacionempleo@msj.go.cr.

See the Feb. 13 issue of The Tico Times for more on this story.