Aug. 23--When the first of more than a million Minnesotans start pouring into the State Fair on Thursday, the grounds might seem like a welcome respite from the deep recession amid all the corn chewing, sheep shearing and Tilt-A-Whirling.

But if fairgoers look closely, they'll notice the economic reality in the faces of the State Fair workforce -- no longer strictly a legion of teenagers earning a few pre-school bucks by ripping admission tickets or easing people into sky-ride gondolas.

One of the women who will sell Midway tickets, for example, was laid off from Northwest Airlines after 20 years. One of the custodians, Richard Briggs, 38, worked as a financial analyst at UnitedHealth Group until he was let go last Sept 1.

The Mendota Heights stepfather of two will be working nights for the fair's 12-day run from Aug. 27 and Sept. 7. He was busy power-washing the Visitor Plaza last week and will stick around to clean up, earning $8.50 an hour, when the fair shuts down after Labor Day.

"I'd rather be collecting a normal paycheck, but you meet a better class of people pushing a mop," he said. "It's a nice change to actually see the results of your work."

Last year, the fair's Employment Center placed 3,700 people with jobs. This year, that number dropped 35 percent to 1,300 jobs. That's because returning workers get first crack and most chose to retain last year's jobs even though they pay as little as the $7.25 minimum wage.

"The turnover is super low and we cut off applications sooner than usual because we had such an abundance of applicants," said Diana Sletten, a supervisor at the Employment Center.

More than 7,000 of those who signed up to work this year were turned away, nearly double the number of three years ago. Back in 2006, 1,456 of the unneeded workers were 21 or older. This year, 3,053 people who signed up but weren't hired were over 21.

"I do feel really lucky," said Ryan Tillett, 23, who at least got an interview to earn minimum wage as a cashier for the Texas Steakhouse concession. He was laid off from his clerk's job in April.

"We just had a baby daughter last week and I'm down to my last bit of money in my bank for next month's rent," he said. "This will hold me off until I can find a job."

Roy Schultz, 43, of St. Paul, wasn't so lucky. He was among those who stopped in at the Employment Center, a converted bus garage near the southwest corner of the fairgrounds. Like thousands of others, he was told the fair had no jobs.

"Twelve days of employment makes a world of difference for me being homeless or not," he said.