Feb. 6--There was a molecular biologist. A few attorneys. IT and telecommunications executives. A handful of scientists and engineers. An energy trader. And banking and financial services executives.

What do they have in common?

They are all out of work. And three days this week, they packed a Columbia classroom to learn job-seeking strategies, interviewing skills, resume-writing techniques and how to network.

Some might even call it partly therapy, where they exchange ideas and stories of frustrations and success in a tight job market.

"You're in the sales and marketing business right now," career counselor Stephen Gallison told the nearly 50 professionals participating in the Maryland Professional Outplacement Assistance Center's JumpStart program.

Gallison is the founder and executive director of the center, which has seen an increased demand for its services in the past year.

The center helped 2,500 people last year, and Gallison predicts that number will at least double in 2009 because more layoffs are expected amid worsening economic conditions.

There are 11.1 million Americans who are unemployed, with the national jobless rate climbing to 7.2 percent last month. In Maryland, the unemployment rate reached a 15-year high of 5.8 percent. January's national unemployment rate, which is expected to edge higher, will be released today.

One indicator that it's taking longer to find jobs is the increasing number of long-term unemployed workers, those who are jobless for 27 weeks or more. The government says that figure rose to 2.6 million in December and was up by 1.3 million last year.

It seems as though every day, a who's who of employers announces another round of layoffs: Macy's, Home Depot and Sprint Nextel. And locally, some of the region's largest employers have slashed their work forces: Legg Mason Inc., Constellation Energy Group and Erickson Retirement Communities.

"I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude," said Salah Elleithy, a business development associate who was laid off from Constellation in the fall.

Elleithy has been through this before. When Baltimore-based NeighborCare was bought by an out-of-state pharmacy giant in 2005, Elleithy was one of many NeighborCare employees who were let go.

It took three weeks to secure a new job at Constellation. Things are much slower this time.

"Opportunities are out there but competition is pretty high," says Elleithy, 32, of Columbia.

She is trying to start an accounting and financial advisory firm with a colleague who was also laid off from Constellation.