Hurricane Katrina evacuees are interviewing for jobs as they look to make new lives, at least temporarily, in Phoenix. Meanwhile, Arizona employers are posting jobs in fields ranging from carpet sales to health care.

“I’m going to find something,’ said Darnell Robinson, a 38-year-old mother of four who formerly worked as a custodian for a New Orleans hospital. “I’m ready to start over.’

Social-service workers temporarily deployed to the evacuation shelter at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix have interviewed more than 150 displaced people, trying to match up skills with posted openings.

“We’re making the connections there,’ Department of Economic Security employment worker Belinda Hanson said between interviews Sept. 7.

Handwritten cardboard signs on the wall behind DES job counselors’ work tables in the shelter’s “family transition center’ listed dozens of jobs in offices, restaurants and warehouses, and DES officials said a handful of evacuees had already found work thanks to referrals.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service was spreading word that any Postal Service employees among the evacuees just had to ask for a new position.

The state planned to step up its efforts with a two-day job fair at the coliseum Sept. 8 and Sept. 9. Participating employers will include government agencies and trade groups but all potential employers couldn’t be accommodated, said DES spokeswoman Liz Barker. “We had to get this thing together very quickly and we do have limited space.’

However, other employers can post open positions online so the social-service workers at the coliseum can review the openings with evacuees, Ms. Barker said.

One such opening, for an in-store sales position of carpet design consultant, was posted Wednesday on a Katrina-only Web site (http://www.azkatrinajobs.com) by a Prescott Valley business belonging to the Carpet One nationwide co-op.

“We were looking, and there are people available that weren’t available before so it’s a fresh source’ of applicants, said Gene Peters, controller for the Prescott Valley business. “At the same time there are people in need.’

Other businesses posting job openings on the site included Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Talley Defense Systems, AmTrust Bank and Gila River Casinos. The site had 175 jobs posted by mid-afternoon Wednesday.

“I’ve got applications that I’m about to fill out because I need to work,’ said Ricky Jimcoily, a 35-year-old New Orleans evacuee at the shelter with his wife and two children, ages 11 and 12.

Mr. Jimcoily said his family loves being in Phoenix. “They want me to find a job here and they want to start school tomorrow.’

Governor Napolitano said the job assistance and other help being provided by Arizona is part of a long-term commitment.

“This isn’t going to last one day,’ Napolitano said. “This is going to be a long-term evacuation, and people are going to need a lot of people, and Arizonans are providing that.’

Ms. Napolitano, who said she’d personally spoken with a heavy equipment operator, a fifth-grade teacher and a nurse, expressed confidence that evacuees would find work, especially in job-rich industries such as construction, health care and tourism.

“There are jobs available. The question will be matching up people with jobs. I think we’ve got good folks working on that,’ Ms. Napolitano said.