HOUSTON -- Even before job hunters got inside the ballroom at the Hilton in southeast Houston, there was already a line.

Mark Wilson wants a job. He graduated from college in May. He was among about 1,000 people looking for a job at the Houston Hires job fair on Wednesday.

Wilson said, "Actually, I am trying to break into the industry of management, fresh out of school. Trying to get experience, get my feet wet. Just looking for a management-type opportunity."

Searchers like Wilson were able to apply for a job at the fair, have someone look over their resumes and connect with people who are actually hiring.

In Houston, the most recent unemployment rate stood at 8.4 percent. In Texas, there are nearly a million people looking for a job.

The Lubbock Police Department had a booth at the Houston job fair.

The department offers a starting salary of more than $41,000.

Corp. Corey Nunley of the Lubbock Police Department said, "It's upsetting that you see so many people -- they've come upon some type of economic hardship, things like that. We see a lot of people that are interested in something like what we have to offer."