MARYSVILLE – Like many soon-to-be graduating college graduates, Kailey Larsen and Laurel Thornlund are anxious to get jobs. Unlike other years, there are plenty out there.

Larsen and Thornlund will be graduating in a few weeks from Washington State University-Everett. Both are communications majors with an interest in marketing and advertising.

Both attended the Career Fair Wednesday in the Orca Ballroom at Tulalip Resort Casino. Even though unemployment is low, that didn’t stop hundreds of job-seekers from attending.

Some of the vendors were in such need of workers that they were hiring on the spot. “It’s a tight job market,” said Carrie Radcliff of The Daily Herald, which helped put on the event. “Some are hiring right now instead of waiting.” Radcliff thought that would be the case, so sponsors this year tried to prepare job-seekers by advising them to dress for success, bring a professional resume and be ready to be interviewed.

As always, there were many young people looking for jobs, but there were also more older folks than usual. Radcliff guessed that may be because of layoffs at stores like Sears and Macy’s.

Larsen, of Lake Stevens, and Thornlund, of Stanwood, were looking at many different possibilities for jobs. They even visited with an Army recruiter and the Tulalip Resort Casino booth. Both had college internships locally, with the Arlington-Smokey Point Chamber of Commerce, working on its new directory and some brochures. Both said they would like to find “creative” jobs in marketing but they are looking into “anything.”

Like those two, Troy Mato, 23, a graduate of Lake Stevens High School, who also obtained an associate’s degree with the Defense Language Institute, is looking for “any job. I want to build up my skill set,” he said.