DAYTON, Ohio -- The Miami Valley Full Employment Council, along with support from Jobs with Justice, held a Rally for Jobs event on Friday morning to bring attention to the unemployed.

The event was held at 11 a.m. at the Jobs Center on Edwin C. Moses Boulevard.

Officials said some neighborhoods in the Dayton area are near or already experiencing depression-like conditions. They said the number of unemployed and people living in poverty is past the level of being acceptable.

The employment council said on any given night there are hundreds of people who are homeless and living on the streets. It also said that food pantries are seeing an increased number of people who are seeking food.

The event was held to bring attention to the need for jobs and an effective safety net to protect the unemployed and others who have been hurt by the recent economic crisis.

The National Jobs for All Coalition is rallying to demand living-wage jobs for everyone who wants to work. It also wants to ensure that there is adequate income and support for all unemployed, underemployed and underpaid workers.

The coalition is also seeking new programs of public and private job creation.

On the first Friday of every month, the U.S. Labor Department releases the previous month’s unemployment numbers.

Officials said In February 2009, more than 650,000 jobs were lost, which is the highest monthly rate of job loss since 1949, bringing the national unemployment rate to 8.1 percent.

At this time, 12.5 million people are unemployed, and an additional 14.2 million are classified as hidden unemployed, either because they can’t find full-time work or are not looking because they are too discouraged.

The coalition is working with Jobs with Justice to hold a town meeting on the economic crisis on April 14, at College Hill Community Church, which is located at 1547 Philadelphia Drive, at 7 p.m.