It's been a long four years since Krystle Monroe had full-time employment.

"Sometimes I can't even believe it myself," she said standing next to her husband at a recent East Oakland job fair. "I've been sending out resumes, going to these job fairs, following up on tips, but nothing has worked out."

As the city government grapples with the biggest financial chaos it has ever faced, many Oakland residents are struggling with money. Nowhere is this more evident than in the number of people unemployed in the city.

Oakland's unemployment rate is 16.5 percent, higher than the state's 12.1 percent. According to Mayor Jean Quan, in some neighborhoods, unemployment is as high as 25 percent.

The reasons varied for those out of work, but the desire to gain full employment is evident in their words.

"I'm very frustrated," said Monroe, who previously worked in warehouse services for organizations like FedEx. "We've got two kids and we want to buy a house, be able to do different things. I really hope I can find something today."

At the job and health fair, hosted by E.C. Reems Community Services and the city of Oakland last week - folks arrived early and slowly went from table to table looking for work - hoping for something stable.

Hundreds of people, young and old, mostly African American and from across Oakland and the East Bay, attended the event. Organizations participating in the fair included Wells Fargo, Turner Construction Company, Walgreens and Waste Management.

By midday, the sun pressed hard down on the annex parking space where the event was being held, but that didn't stop job seekers from showing up.

Will Johnson, 59, said he was searching wide for employment opportunities.

"Basically, I'm just looking for anything because I've been out of work for a while now," he said. "It's been tough. I go to a lot of these job fairs and it's like 400 applications for three positions. But, I'm not giving up hope."

Organizers of the East Oakland job fair said the Great Recession is still present in many local communities.

"Even in very well off neighborhoods, I've spoken to people who were having a hard time finding a job," Mayor Quan said. "So the recession is still affecting us."

The impact of few jobs in Oakland has hit some families hard.

"At this point people are discouraged," Swameka Martin, an organizer with the E.C. Reems Community Services, said. "Many people are feeling like they're doing all they can, but they're still not finding work."

Community organizers said during these tough times, Oaklanders need to support one another.

"Jobs are scarce in our community and so we have to help one another," Pastor Maria Reems said. "Because it's definitely tough out there."