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In gauge of Staten Island's economy, 50 jobs are offered and400 turn out to apply for themFriday, January 13, 2012, 1:52 AMKiawana RichBySTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Amid the gloomof an economy that has shown scantevidence of bouncing back anytime soon,some Staten Islanders caught a ray ofemployment sunshine last night via a jobsfair hosted by Community Resources, oneof the borough’s largest employers.By night’s end at the organization’s Travisheadquarters, more than 400 Islandershad applied for the 50 available positions,said Dana Magee, executive director andCEO of the agency, which is one of theborough’s premier providers of services forthe developmentally disabled.Staten Island Advance/Bill LyonsTabatha Rexach of Westerleigh fills out paperwork prior to herinterview.“We are thrilled,” said Magee, “because we need folks, and good folks, right away.”Positions included registered nurses, qualified mental retardation professionals, direct care workers, Medicaidservice coordinators, recreation aides, drivers, and more, said Teresa Claro, director of human resources.She said the attendees constituted “an excellent application pool.”“It’s sad that so many people are looking for work,” said Ms. Claro, “but it’s good for our agency because wewill be able to have qualified people to serve our consumers.”Applicants ran the gamut in terms of age, nationality and walk of life. And despite Magee’s impression of theapplicants’ being “patient, polite and hopeful,” there was an understandable undercurrent of anxiety.“I feel a little anxious, with so many people applying for so few positions,” said Tabatha Rexach, 41, ofWesterleigh. Ms. Rexach was recently laid off from her job as a pharmacy technician at Walgreen’s. Prior toPage 150 of 161