4,000 apply for a 20-hour £140 job

Thrugelmir

Story that caught my eye.

John Brookman didn't expect the job vacancy to stay open for long. But he didn't expect more than 4,000 local applications for the £7 per hour part-time 20-hour job at his North London paint shop.

"I couldn't believe the response," he says. "I got applications from so many different types of people. Housewives. Even legal secretaries. It seems everyone is just desperate for steady income, even if it's just 20 hours a week."

Keeping it together

Brookman got 650 written applications for the £140 per week post from the local job centre and more than 3,500 applications via email through the Gumtree website - a worrying indication of the desperation many are feeling as the UK economy struggles to lift itself out of recession.

J's Decor 8 shop is situated on Stoke Newington's busy high street in Hackney, North London. Business is holding together for Brookman thanks to a strong trade base. But he's noticed a dramatic drop-off in local DIY-ers because, he thinks, the area is home to many local public sector workers and the self-employed.

"People just seem to have completely lost confidence. They're not spending. They know about VAT rising in January. They know about the public sector jobs that are going to go."

http://www.dailyfinance.co.uk/2010/07/28/4-000-applicants-for-a-20-hour-140-job/

marklv

No great surprise - you always get a large number of people applying for a part-time jobs, mainly pensioners and women with kids. What I'm interested in is how many people are applying for £50k+ management jobs.

silvercar

Taking a job over 16 hours a week opens the doors to family tax credits, working tax credits, child care allowance, child tax credits.......Probably worth more in benefits than the pay itself.

ruggedtoast

marklv wrote: »

No great surprise - you always get a large number of people applying for a part-time jobs, mainly pensioners and women with kids. What I'm interested in is how many people are applying for £50k+ management jobs.

You dont think 4000 people applying for a part time slightly more than minimum wage job in a shop is in the least bit unusual?

ILW

Oddly enough, in the care sector where my partner works it is still very difficult to find suitable recruits. Many are put off by the unsocial hours and the status of the job.
Bit sad really.

Mr.Mulla

It only goes to prove that job openings are getting more scarce each day. And people are getting desperate for a job. And as Silvercar has pointed out, a job which is more than 16 hours a week entitles them to more benefits.

ruggedtoast

What is unusual is people applying out of their industry. As we've discussed before, although most of us could flip burgers standing on our heads (figuratively) if all you have on your CV is white collar work in a bank you'll never be given a job doing so no matter how desperate you are.

andyroberts1967

A lot of these people could be public sector workers who work flexitime. In my job, if I want to and my manager agrees, I could compress my working week into 4 days, and work my full time job from Tuesday to Friday - thereby freeing me up to work the part time job on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Not that I would relish the thought of working 7 days a week!! But I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of applications were from the public sector.

chucky

i've just called John at J's Decor 8 shop on Stoke Newington High Street and the job is still open.
all the people interviewed weren't suitable so the vacancy is still there.

John's number is 020 7502 2283

chucky

ruggedtoast wrote: »

You dont think 4000 people applying for a part time slightly more than minimum wage job in a shop is in the least bit unusual?

very weird and would be surprised how true the story is.

there are always jobs in London. maybe not the job you'd like to do but there is always some sort of work in London.

FTBFun

Mr.Mulla wrote: »

It only goes to prove that job openings are getting more scarce each day.

Well not really, as its one example.

There's a job opening at my firm that has been open since March yet still not filled. Does that also mean there are plenty of jobs around?