How are former Spirit workers coping four months after airline’s demise?

It has been nearly four months since Spirit Airlines shut down all operations, leaving thousands in Broward County without jobs.

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“I wake up every morning wishing I could get on an airplane,” said Debbie Seward.

This week marks four months since Seward lost her job as a flight attendant when Spirit Airlines shut down.

“Very tough, very tough every single day I’m out trying to get a job. I’m not ready to retire; I can’t retire financially,” Seward said.

Her former colleague James Derby is also navigating the turbulent job market.

“It’s been pretty challenging. I’ve attended four or five job fairs, I’ve submitted many résumés and haven’t heard back from a lot of them. I’ve heard the word ghost a lot,” said Derby, a former Spirit in-flight supervisor.

Seward and Derby have attended two job fairs this week.

Friday, they were at the annual Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport job fair at the Broward County Convention Center.

About 20 employers were looking to fill more than 300 positions.

Some of those jobs are open after Temporary Protected Status ended for Haitians living in the U.S.

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“With the ending of TPS, we had over 132 people who were let go, but this was in the janitorial services and concession areas,” said Broward County Commissioner Alexandra Davis.

Davis said approximately 4,000 people registered for the fair, which speaks to the state of the job market.

Seward says she might have to explore a new route if she can’t find another opportunity to take flight.

“I miss it dearly every day, so I’m still out here trying to get a job, hopefully in aviation because that’s my passion and my love, if that doesn’t work out, I’ll have to look into something else,” Seward said.

The next FLL job fair isn’t until next year, but CareerSource Broward is hosting a hospitality and tourism job fair hon Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to noon at CareerSource Broward South, 7550 Davie Road Extension.

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This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami.