Ricky Sologot was looking for a job.

The 19-year-old Warwick resident had been out of work for less than 24 hours when he showed up to yesterday’s job fair at the Crowne Plaza. He had been working in the Inventory Control Department at Wal-Mart until Tuesday night when he was unexpectedly fired.

But Sologot was just one of more than 3,000 who turned out for the event hosted by Eyewitness News that featured more than 70 businesses.

According to the Warwick Fire Marshal, Peter Marietti, anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 job seekers were in the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza at any one time. A high turnout indeed, but in a state with unemployment near 13 percent – ranking second highest in the nation – the attendance comes at no surprise. Throughout the day, buses coming from Warwick Mall and CCRI shuttled visitors to the hotel.

The job seekers represented a wide age range. Young people just out of high school joined those in their 50s and 60s who had lost their jobs or were retirees looking to find work.

Kasi Horan, 21, of Ashaway, pushed a stroller along while browsing the booths. She said she has been unemployed since 2008 when she was laid off from Darlington Fabrics in Westerly.

“Right about now I’d take anything. It’s been really hard,” said Horan.

John Bousquet, of Johnston, echoed Horan’s statement, saying, “I’m looking to get into whatever I can get into.”

Bousquet was laid off from his job as a receiver at Packing Concepts in April 2008. He said his layoff came the day he returned from a vacation to the Bahamas.

Bousquet said he knew the layoff was coming, though.

“They had me training guys on my job. I knew it was coming,” he said.

At the time, he said he was told his job had been consolidated with another position.

In other words, Bousquet said, he was out the door.

William Beal, a lifetime resident of Exeter, was laid off from Inland Waters in Johnston. Beal is currently seeking a job in property management.

Not everyone at the job market had been laid off though, as many recent college and high school graduates were in attendance.

Dustin Jordan, 25, of Coventry, just returned from a trip overseas and said that he is having a rough time finding a job.

A recent graduate of the University of Rhode Island’s Psychology Department, he said a job doing research or marketing would be ideal but he’s also considering the Peace Corps.

Al Asante, a 24-year-old from Pawtucket, is a recent graduate of Columbia University in New York. He hopes his degree in financial engineering will secure him a job in finance. Asante was one of many who had never experienced this type of event before.

“I’ve never been to a job fair before,” said Robert Smith, a resident of Newport. “The job fair is just one step in the whole process.”

Smith was “downsized” after working for Rhanm Sales for 14 years because the company restructured. He also said that the severance he received is the only thing keeping him afloat.

Warwick resident A.J. Roland is currently a part-time employee at Lowe’s but is hoping to increase his workload.

“I have a consistent 20-hour work week, but I’m looking for more,” said the 20-year-old Roland, who is taking classes at CCRI but is not currently in a degree program.

Ricky Sisoukrath, 20, of Providence, also takes classes at CCRI. He has relied on temp agencies for work in the past, but said, “There is just no more temp work.”

Sisoukrath, like most of the people at the job fair, is looking for any work he can find.