Jim Hann remembers back in the '80s when he was living in McKeesport at the height of the steel crash. He was standing in the unemployment line with skilled workers all around him, people with families struggling to stay in their homes.

"It was an emergency time," he said.

Now, as the administrator of the Pennsylvania CareerLink office in Forest Hills, he is starting to see the same kind of needs.

"We're getting back to the people in the emergency situation," he said. "They have bills that are coming due, mortgages, kids in college. You see it every day."

CareerLink is the Pennsylvania piece of the National Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which mandated that states provide a one-stop shop for job seekers who need help locating jobs and training.

Allegheny County has three comprehensive CareerLink Centers, an affiliate office and two regional offices. The program is an amalgamation of programs from Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, Goodwill Industries, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council and the commonwealth's Bureau of Workforce Development.

About 60 percent of the people coming into the office are between 35 and 55 years old, said Mr. Hann. The clientele now is trending toward some college education and college graduates.

The services are not for just the unemployed, but also for those seeking new jobs.

"We have a population of people who come here because they know the market is unstable," he said. That is the best time, he said, to get a resume together and check to make sure people will act as references.

"The best time to go food shopping is when you're not hungry, and the best time to look for a job is when you have one."

Roxanne Swann walked into CareerLink last week for help.

Mrs. Swann, 37, of West Mifflin, has a degree in environmental botany and a certificate in horticulture from Chatham University. Up until Oct. 1, she was an environmental educator speaking at schools, libraries and to community groups about the clean-water issues of the Turtle Creek watershed.

In the past three months, she has applied for 100 jobs and not gotten a single call back. "I figured I needed professional help," she said.

She studied an environmental science because it seemed like a hot job field. She said it was all over the news that government officials and businesses were talking about going green. As a third generation Pittsburgher with two children of her own, she has a passion for the rivers and waterways, which was why talking about clean water initiatives was so perfect for her.

Now, she said, in the economic downturn, "The job arena looks to be lacking."

Mia Miller, 41, of McKeesport, has a job. She's a customer service representative for the DISH Network.

In a perfect world, she said, she would get a job in human resources or as an administrative assistant, "Although today, I'm going for what I can go for."

Last week she went to the CareerLink office to look for a better job, using the center's computers and Internet access.

While much of what CareerLink offers is online at www.careerlinkpittsburgh.com, the centers have workshops on interviewing, resume writing and finding transferable skills that will work from one job to another.

To access CareerLink or find the nearest office, call 1-866-317-JOBS or visit www.careerlinkpittsburgh.com.