Ross is opening its first store ever in D.C. next week and is hiring dozens of D.C. workers.

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Mayor Vincent Gray was so anxious for people to know, he held his bi-weekly news conference in front of the store to welcome Ross to town and to hear employees like Tracy Anderson:

"I was actually unemployed for a year, so I was very thankful for Ross for hiring me,” Anderson said.

With D.C.'s unemployment rate at 11.1 percent, Ross has had no problem staffing the new store.

And the Ross folks were so intent on making it D.C.-friendly that they asked D.C. Employment Services to find workers.

Throughout the day, a steady stream of would be workers approached and were told to apply online. The mayor talked about what workers need to keep a job:

"what we call the soft skills, showing up, showing up every day on time and having a good attitude,” Gray said.