Pappas said his tentative job has brightened his mood which, he said, he's been able to keep positive during his months of searching for jobs, mostly online. He also was heartened last week by a CNBC-TV story he heard about the national recession being over.

"I felt happy when I heard that," Pappas said. "A lot of people are looking for a job; we're all people in the same situation; we'll be back in business."

The CNBC report talked about a Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst's report released last week saying the recession had ended. A few other economic analysts have said they see signs the recession may be over.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and many private economists predict the recession will end later this year, The Associated Press reported. The economists warn the recovery will be slow, with unemployment still rising in months ahead.

Pappas said the temporary job will consist of putting together computer-based, multimedia training for employees of the defense contractor.

The Mexico native said he needs to become a U.S. citizen to be qualified to get a permanent job with the company. He had already begun the process of becoming a citizen before this job became a possibility, he said.

One drawback to the temp job is that it doesn't include health insurance, Pappas said. That means Pappas and his wife will have to continue "trying to keep healthy and taking care of ourselves real good," he said. If they need a doctor, they'll probably go to one in Juarez, he said.

The couple's children have health insurance through the government's Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. That's helped because a recent test found their 1-year-old daughter has "some minimal hearing loss" which could affect her speech, and may require some speech therapy, Pappas said. His daughter is scheduled to have another test soon. The tests are covered by the insurance, he said.

Spending more time with his children has been a positive part of being unemployed, Pappas said. But it's difficult to enjoy the time off, he said, "because I'm concerned about what will happen next." The job search is on his mind much of the time.

"When you're job hunting, you're always keeping an eye on something" that may lead to a job, he said.

Ellis, the employment adviser, said she often hears from unemployed people that they have difficulty enjoying their unexpected time off from a job.

"Spend at least a half a day" each weekday on the job search, and "use the rest of the time in meaningful ways," such as spending time with your children and doing home projects that don't cost a lot of money, Ellis said. "Don't just sit and watch TV and be grumpy. Stay positive."

For more information: www.urgjobs.com.

JOBLESS RATES: El Paso monthly unemployment rates, and number of unemployed El Pasoans searching for jobs, in recent years:

--June: 9.6 percent, 29,300

--Dec. 2008: 7.1 percent, 21,500

--June 2008: 6.6 percent, 19,700

--Dec. 2007: 5.4 percent, 16,200

--June 2007: 6.4 percent, 18,600

--Dec. 2006: 6.0 percent, 17,700

--June 2006: 7.4 percent, 21,587

--Dec. 2005: 6.2 percent, 18,053

--June 2005: 7.5 percent, 21,770

--Dec. 2003: 7.8 percent, 22,663

--June 2003: 10.0 percent, 28,712

--Dec. 2002: 8.1 percent, 23,696

Source: Texas Workforce Commission.

-----

To see more of the El Paso Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.elpasotimes.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, El Paso Times, Texas

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.