VICKSBURG (AP) — When Michelle Walton was laid off from her job in Jackson, the Vicksburg resident thought she’d find new work soon.

A year later, she’s still without a job.

‘‘I’ve been unemployed before,’’ the 47-year-old said, ‘‘but it was right back into a job.’’

Walton was among about 2,000 people at the Vicksburg area job fair on Tuesday. About 700 walked away with job offers, said Job Buckner, director of the Governor’s Job Fair Network.

‘‘At a time when you hear all this doom and gloom about the unemployment rate going up, there are a lot of people who don’t have hope, but coming to our job fair, you could see 70 (plus) employers who had jobs and were making them available to people,’’ Buckner said.

The state’s rising unemployment rate may have been why this year’s job fair was more successful than last year’s, an event Buckner said attracted about 1,600 people and generated more than 400 job offers.

In June, Mississippi’s unemployment rate hit 9.8 percent, but the city of Vicksburg’s jobless rate was 15.6 percent.

That same month, Armstrong Hardwood shed 124 workers, the city’s last major layoff, said Terry Hodges, branch director of the Vicksburg WIN Job Center.

Interest and applications ranged from from several dozen to hundreds.

Ameristar Casino Hotel got more than 500 applicants for nine jobs, with eight paying between $7.25 and $8.50 an hour.

‘‘I thought it would be a lower turnout,’’ said Tyrone Thompson, a finance manager at the casino. ‘‘I didn’t think the economy was affecting Mississippi that bad.’’

Dallas Police Department representatives spoke with 50 to 60 job seekers and said about 35 to 40 were ‘‘good’’ applicants, those with a college degree or previous law enforcement or military experience.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Janice Crowther, a spokeswoman for the Texas police department and a Columbia native. The 1983 Alcorn State University graduate was recruited shortly after earning her degree.

Kimberly Norrise, who works in human resources at Carlise Corp., a Wendy’s franchisee with more than 100 stores in four states, said her company picked up 25 management applications and about 75 for crew members.

‘‘We were expecting a higher turnout for the management positions,’’ she said.

The Vicksburg convention center floor was populated with a mix of employers and educators, a combination reflected in the plans of those there.

ITT Technical Institute, Hinds Community College and Magnolia College of Cosmetology seemed to draw a steady stream of visitors to their tables, but Cliftina Grissom, a 26-year-old Vicksburg resident, is planning a virtual education.

She wants to take care of her son while attending Kaplan University, an online college. She left the work force a year ago to have her son and also wants to find a job.

Walton has a degree in business administration and wants to find a day job while earning another degree in elementary education at Belhaven College’s night program.

Heather Barnes, a 26-year-old Vicksburg resident, lost her job on July 3. She’s waiting to get her first unemployment check and looking for a job. She doesn’t want to work in fast food, but said they seemed to be hiring more quickly than others with openings.

‘‘A lot of people are looking for work, so it’s going to be hard to find (a job),’’ she said.

Takeia Carson, a 21-year-old Vicksburg resident who works at a nursing home, was looking for a job with better hours and, perhaps, higher pay.

‘‘I’m just trying to find something better than where I am,’’ she said.

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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, http://www.clarionledger.com