McDonalds Hires 62,000, Turns Away Over 938,000 Applicants For Minimum Wage, Part-Time Jobs

[Cali_Democrat]

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/mcdonalds-hires-62000-turns-away-over-938000-applicants-minimum-wage-part-time-jobs

This is what the US economy has been reduced to: McDonalds reports that as part of its employment event to hire 50,000 minimum wage, part-time (mostly) workers, subsequently raised to 62,000 it received a whopping 1 million applications, or a Tim Geithner jealousy inducing 6.2% hit rate (h/t X. Kurt. OSis).

Alas, the US economy is now so pathetic that the bulk of the population will settle for anything. Literally anything. And the saddest part: over 938,000 applicants were turned away. Here's hoping to Burger King needs a few million janitors in the immediate future too. And yes, aside from reality, things in America are really recovering quite nicely.

From Bloomberg:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-28/mcdonald-s-hires-62-000-during-national-event-24-more-than-planned.html

McDonald’s and its franchisees hired 62,000 people in the U.S. after receiving more than one million applications, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. Previously, it said it planned to hire 50,000.

The April 19 national hiring day was the company’s first, said Danya Proud, a McDonald’s spokeswoman. She declined to disclose how many of the jobs were full- versus part-time. McDonald’s employed 400,000 workers worldwide at company-owned stores at the end of 2010, according to a company filing.

Earlier this month, McDonald’s said sales at stores open at least 13 months climbed 2.9 percent in the U.S. after it attracted more diners with items such as beverages and the Chipotle BBQ Bacon Angus burger. The fast-food chain has about 14,000 stores in the U.S. and more than 18,000 abroad. About 80 percent of all McDonald’s stores are franchised.

[elocs]

1. My 19 year old goddaughter applied and never got an interview and she would have loved to work there

and she had experience working in fast food. These are obviously not jobs that are meant to provide a living wage for an individual, but they are great first jobs for young people or for those looking to supplement their income.

[SheilaT]

2. The turnover at McDonald's is pretty steady,

so I'd suggest she go back in a month or two and apply again. The down side to this National Day of Hiring was that so very, very many turned out.

Several years ago my oldest son needed a summer job, and he's not very good at going about those things. So every day I gave him two or three places to go to and apply. On about the third day the first place on the list was the McDonald's a half mile from home. He came back about two hours later with a look of wonder on his face, saying, "They hired me!" I must add that the manager of that location was very good, and a couple of years later, when my son (who'd only kept the job over the summer as I recall) went back to him for a reference, the manager tried to hire him again.

[elocs]

4. She is hoping to get a job in the next few weeks to beat those getting out of school.

She is doing temp work now but the hours from week to week are very undependable.

[Dappleganger]

9. I'm sorry it didn't pan out for her.

Our 19 yr. old daughter is now working 26 hours a week with them. Tell her to keep trying and not give up (our daughter has been trying to find employment for two years).

[Citizen Worker]

23. If we had an economy with an adequate number of jobs and a wage scale commensurate with the cost of

living, "...those looking to supplement their income" wouldn't need to. We must demand more instead of accepting the crumbs that fall from the table of the oligarchs.

[rsmith6621]

3. Minimum Wage...Corporate America Has Us Where They...

....Want us.......Turning away nearly a million???

[Canuckistanian]

5. And they said the economy wasn't improving...

On the down side, they only hired 62,000. On the up side, almost a million are LOOKING for work (they haven't given up)

:sarcasm:

[patrice]

6. I just talked to someone about a job that pays $4. less @ hr than I was making this time

last year. SAME kind of job, same exact skills, about 20 miles farther away from where I live.

[Vinee]

25. It's a good thing that everything is getting cheaper, huh? er wait... nevermind.

[Anakin Skywalker]

7. Welcome the the United States of Part-Time Minimum Wage!

So...this is the great free market, huh?

[Spinny Liberal]

8. Almost a million people

to fill 62K jobs. And what do we get from the GOP? Gutting Medicare and abortion theater.

[Dappleganger]

10. You've got that right...

and welcome to DU!

:hi:

[Spinny Liberal]

12. Thank you

Dappleganger. :hi:

[salin]

17. the GOP solution - gut medicare and social security and cut taxes on corps and the wealthy

ya - they don't give a damn about people (only powerful people).

[xchrom]

11. Minimum wage jobs are not 'fine jobs' - I don't care if it is your first job.

You dnont value your self or your child if you think that's true.

[Mosby]

15. In the area of AZ where I live (Phx) McDonald's pays above minimum wage

Usually in the 8-9/hr range. The federal minimum wage right now is 7.25/hr.

Personally I support a national "living wage" but regarding this event at McDonald's I think it's important to be accurate about what they were offering to prospective employees.

[xchrom]

19. It's not a living wage. Period.

Wages should be based on what it really takes to support ones's self.

Which at the LEAST is 11 to 12 dollars an hour.

As long we keep excusing other than a living wage we keep cutting our own throats.

[ej510]

24. $8/9 hr is minimum wage.

[jtuck004]

35. Just for the sake of accuracy, The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per

Hour. Some states, such as Washington (and, it sounds like, Arizona) increase that number.

At that rate someone who works 2000 hours in the year, (with a couple of weeks off, unpaid) gets them about 14,000 a year, before taxes.

That is about half of what it really takes for a single person to live, according to this study from the NW. It is even more deficient when
children are added to the picture.

From the study

"In Washington, 42 percent of job openings pay less than the $15.28 an hour living wage for a single adult and 76 percent pay less than the $28.00 an hour living wage for a single adult with two children."

____________

These are the "working poor", and make up a large portion of the more than 1/3 of people in the United States who retire with nothing beyond social security - because they are not paid enough to save anything. The book "Broke, USA" notes that people who make under $30,000 a year pay an average of $3000 a year more in between fees and higher charges than someone who has an income above that.

[IndyPragmatist]

36. "$15.28 an hour living wage for a single adult"??!!?!?!?!

I make $3 less than that and have no complaints. It amazes me the crap that people come up with sometimes.

But I guess cell phones, cable television, high speed internet, and all are "necessities" now. :eyes:

[jtuck004]

37. Yup. There is no need for medical or dental care for the worker or the

kids, or repairs for the crappy car they need to get to work, or taking the kids to a museum so they will have see the things they will be tested on in school. And no need to have a computer in the home, when they can use the ones in school while eating the one meal they can count on. They are probably just living the high life.

These are prices in the NW. There are pockets in the country where it is marginally cheaper to live. There are also pockets where the self-righteous think it is always someone else 'causing the problems. I don't know if there is any correlation.

[Mosby]

46. AZ does not override the federal minimum wage

So it's 7.25/hr here. I know in CA the state increased the minimum to 8/hr for 2011.

It would be great if it were possible to pay employees 13.54 to 15.60 per hour suggested in the study you posted but it's not at all realistic. Right now I manage a small store - if I raised everyone up to 13.54 it would cost the non-profit I work for an additional $11,500 per month in payroll.

PS to calculate yearly from hourly just multiply by 2080.

[bahrbearian]

13. Then Donald fired all but one,, because she quit.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

14. It would be very, very interesting to see the

median and average age of those who got the jobs. I don't do fast food very often, but when I do, I am always amazed by the number of adults working at these jobs, and by adults, I mean 40+. And it was obvious they were not shift managers either.

[notesdev]

16. That is an absolutely stunning figure

ONE MILLION people applied for jobs at ONE company (on one day? over ten days? either way, very short time interval)

[hobbit709]

18. Exactly what I said they were going to do.

and some people here chided me for saying it.

[kelly1mm]

20. What was that? They hired 12000 more people than they said they

would. Were they supposed to hire all 1 million?

[hobbit709]

22. What part of part-time, close to minimum wage and no benefits did you not understand.

[Obamanaut]

29. What part of a lot of people who work in those kind of jobs are working

there not because they are supporting themselves or a family, but because they simply want something to do, or are saving money to buy a car for their senior year in high school do you not understand.

Those part time minimum wage jobs do just that for many, many people who don't want full time work.

[hobbit709]

30. when there are people working 3 or more part time jobs because there are NO full time ones

I know several people who are working part time-not through choice but necessity. They would be very happy working full time but won't get hired for that.
I would take even a part time job but no one is going to hire a 60+ with health problems and there are millions out there in the same boat. So I'm living on the last of my savings and what little money I can make working from home, selling possessions I no longer have need of, etc. If it wasn't for my VA healthcare, I'd most likely be dead since my meds would cost my above $800/mo if I had to pay full price for them. In another 8 months I can file for SS which will at least cover the house expenses.
I got the house paid off with the death benefits from Donna but if I had my choice, I'd rather still owe another four years and have her back.
I have a friend who just got on disability and has no place to stay and we're negotiating arrangements now. That will help out tremendously. In 21 years the taxes on the house went from $400 a year to $2800 while household income decreased 80%

Yeah, they hired 60K+.

[Obamanaut]

31. Yes they hired more than 50k people. Probably the majority are

part time.

Did they announce they were going to hire that many people full time, or was it just an announcement for 50K?

People will hire 60+ workers. Especially part time. I was just offered a part time job at the gym I go to, and I did not ask for one. Between my sets, I straighten up rather than just stand or sit while recovering. They offered me a job, four hours a day. I didn't take it.

I stop at convenience stores for refreshments on motorcycle and/or bicycle rides, four different ones in the local area. In the last month I've been asked if I wanted to work part time at two of them. I did not apply. I am 68. People will hire older workers.

Yeah, they hired 60K+, and I imagine many, if not most, are high school kids saving up for college tuition or a car for their senior year. Or retired people who want something to do. Those people do exist, and these kinds of jobs provides for them.

[hobbit709]

32. Did you miss the health problems part in my case.

with the diabetic neuropathy I find it difficult to walk more than 100 yards or stand more than 10 minutes at a time.

[Obamanaut]

33. Did my response suggest that it covered *all* people? People over

60 can be hired, there are jobs for them, but not all people over 60 can work.

[kelly1mm]

38. Is it supposed to be a suprise that McDonald's jobs are PT and close

to minimum wage? I would have been pissed if they had made this big hyped hiring day and NOT done what they said they would (50k jobs). They did more than they said they would and now 62k people have some (extra) income coming in. Not something to be upset about IMO.

[Cali_Democrat]

21. good call. n/t

[NNN0LHI]

26. Most of the workers at McDonalds used to be high school kids

I was a cook at one when I was 15. They had a few older people to cover the day shift during the week but nights and weekends were all kids my age.

Quit there when I was 16 for a better job as a union stock boy at a Jewel grocery store where I worked until I was 18 when Ford hired me while I was still in High School. And if I didn't want to work at Ford I could have walked across the street to any one of a number of factories and got a job there for just about the same money.

Things really have changed. And not for the better either.

Don

[Obamanaut]

27. I would imagine that many of the applicants (both those hired and the

ones turned away) are young people (read teenagers) or older people who may not need to support themselves with the McDonald's job.

Some people simply want a few extra dollars, or something to do.

A few years ago I took a job that started out to be two nights a week cleaning a convenience store. After it expanded to 5 nights I left, because I simply did not want to work 5 nights a week.

[Cali_Democrat]

39. And what is your evidence of this?

Was it the rise in unemployment claims yesterday or was it the downgrade of GDP growth?

This economy sucks.

[Obamanaut]

42. What was confusing about "I would *imagine*..."? Based on my own

experience, and anecdotes from other people in my age group, people like us get offered part time jobs at some of the local places. True they are limited hours jobs, and not much money involved, but we are offered nonetheless.

Now, having known many teenagers in my lifetime who have worked part time for minimum wage to do what I described in my earlier post - save for college, buy a car, etc. - and the older people I know who have worked and/or been offered the same type job, I can say I *imagine* that many others have done so.

My grandson, who graduates next week from Stetson U in Fla, paid for a lot of the stuff his scholarship didn't pay for with, guess what, part time jobs. I *imagine* others did also.

Easy to grasp.

[glen123098]

28. Our country is fucked.

When over 90 percent of us can't even get the "privileged" of working at McDonalds, our country is over. We lost.

[Lyric]

34. My sister worked for McD's earlier this year.

She's at Applebee's now, but one of the creepiest things she told me about McD's was that there were NO high-school kids working at any of the 3 closest stores. It was all adults and seniors, trying to feed themselves and/or their families on that minimum-wage, no-benefit salary.

Don't let the right-wing lie to you about minimum wage. It's NOT just for teenagers who don't have families to support. There are people out here trying to feed kids on that wage and seniors trying to buy medicine. And those burger-flipping, fast-food jobs? Those aren't just--or even MOSTLY--for teens and college kids anymore either.

[TheKentuckian]

41. What is it about a million people applying for 50k part-time, no benefits, near minimum wage jobs

that doesn't alarm a bunch of people?

In November I was going through orientation for a temp gig and there were probably 60 people and only TWO didn't have a degree with several holding Masters and a couple had multiple.
This was for a short assignment that paid between 10-11 an hour.

The ship is taking on water by the ton. Almost a 20 to 1 ratio for McDonald's is not "green shoots" folks, it is a sign of collapse.

58 people with degrees happy and relieved to have a low wage temp job isn't "green shoots" either, it is a fucking nightmare. No spin either, only a hand full wanted to just work an assignment. Almost every single person was hoping for a permanent position.

[ecstatic]

43. Last I checked, we're all free to apply where we want

based on our qualifications. Did I miss something? Why would I be alarmed about someone else applying to McDonalds, especially without knowing their background situation first (i.e., is it a teen or someone just looking for part time work)?

[TheKentuckian]

45. Apparently, you can't comprehend that many are competing for next to nothing.

That is a shit ton of applicants for a nothing job. Almost 20-1 applicants to spots for this kind of job and you don't see any concerns?

Go get your eyes checked and come down from your ivory tower. Opportunities and upward mobility are going the way of the dinosaur.

People are scrambling for their lives and you think it is great.

[Liberal_in_LA]

44. My local McDs are probably 50% adults, 50% teens

And the teens tend to be a bit goofy, less mature and confident at the cash register. I'm sure it's tough for them
to compete with the adults for jobs.

[NorthCarolina]

40. Higher education for America's new economy....