Nekia McNair, a 49-year-old single mother, has been searching for work for more than four months without success.

“They’re not giving out jobs,” she said while sitting with neighbors outside her downtown Indianapolis apartment. “They advertise all this stuff, all these things, and we don’t ever get them.”

McNair’s struggle reflects a national trend. The Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers — including companies, government agencies and nonprofits — added just 22,000 jobs last month, down from 79,000 in July and well below the 80,000 economists had expected.

Despite her 12 years of experience in the medical field, McNair said she has had difficulty even securing an interview.

“Then some jobs have you get dressed, come all the way out there for an interview, and then they’ll say, ‘Oh well, we got some more people coming and we’ll get back with you,’ and you’ll never hear from them,” she said. “So I feel like you’re wasting my time — me and my gas — to come out there just to get told that.”

McNair said she is considering switching careers if she does not land a job soon.

“You only can keep searching, keep searching, keep searching, and if nothing’s coming up then you gotta do something else,” she said.