Even with Business Week Magazine saying Colorado Springs has a strong economy, the local workforce center is slammed right now with people looking for jobs.

Numbers obtained by KKTV 11 News last Thursday say in just the last three months, more than 41,000 people have visited the Pikes Peak Workforce Center looking for jobs, or better jobs. Center employees are trying to handle the influx of customers needing their help by providing an extra room of computers and more informative classes.

Karen Hughes is out of work. "Found out my job was going to be eliminated," says Hughes. But she is not the only one. Tens of thousands of folks in Southern Colorado are feeling the challenge.

"Well, we've had to just continue to serve a huge number of people since the beginning of the year in the thousands on a monthly basis," says Steve Fehl with the Pikes Peak Workforce Center. That's why it's putting on networking groups like these.

"The largest percentage of jobs the people find never get posted and never show up on a job board or newspaper. They are found by people making that connection," says Fehl.

It's a place for people to get together and share ideas and information. "It's been one of those situations where I want to get back here share some information and hear about other people's experience," says Hughes.

"If you are not developing your network, you are missing a huge part of your job search," says Fehl

He says he's seeing a positive trend. "Two people have already announced that they have interviews this week and they have interviews last week which is a change form the way it's been the last several months," says Fehl.

And for Karen, luck is on her side. "Picked it up and I have an interview for Thursday," says Hughes. Of the nearly 42,000 people who came to the centers in the last three months, about 34,000 of them are unemployed. That means there are around 8,000 people who have jobs but are looking for a better ones.

And with the holiday season approaching, Steve Fehl says seasonal jobs will also be more competitive with so many out of work.