Latoya Thomas' story is a familiar one.

"I really need a job," she said.

She's flipping through pages of available positions.

Thomas has done plenty of different jobs and has a lot of experience.

"Medical office work, I've prepared income taxes. I usually don't have a hard time getting a job but so far I have not been getting any responses," said Thomas.

Blame it on a rocky job market.

Unemployment in the tri-county area is hovering around 10 percent, which is much higher than a year ago. 

To make things worse, some big north country employers could be scaling back.

We're still waiting to see what will happen to P&C grocery stores.

The north country's biggest employer, Fort Drum, has instituted a hiring freeze, which means no new jobs unless they're considered critical like family services and mission related positions.

"It's a concern," said Cheryl Mayforth, who runs The WorkPlace, which helps people find jobs. 

She says the most recent spike in unemployment has to do with seasonal layoffs.

Construction season is over as is the tourist season.  

Mayforth believes the job market will continue to lag even when things warm up.

"We're going to be hovering around 8 percent, give or take...for the next year or so," she said.

So what should Latoya Thomas do? 

Job experts say the best field to get into is the health care profession.

There are always openings for nurses and nurse assistants.  

Thomas says her first pick is trying to get a job in home care. 

"Hopefully, someone will call me," she said.

Job experts say the only way to get working again is to keep trying.

It may take getting new training or taking a pay cut temporarily.

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