24,500 Chicagoans flock to apply for 325 Wal-Mart jobs

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-walmart26.html

Eighteen months after the Chicago City Council torpedoed a South Side Wal-Mart, 24,500 Chicagoans applied for 325 jobs at a Wal-Mart opening Friday in south suburban Evergreen Park, one block outside the city limits.

The new Wal-Mart at 2500 W. 95th is one block west of Western Avenue, the city boundary.

Of 25,000 job applicants, all but 500 listed Chicago addresses, said John Bisio, regional manager of public affairs for Wal-Mart.

"In our typical hiring process, you're pretty successful if you have 3,000 applicants," he said. "They were really crowing about 11,000 in Oakland, Calif., last year. So to get 25,000-plus applications and counting, I think is astonishing."

[MadHound]

1. Geez, what a sad statement of economic conditions in Chicago

When you've got tens of thousands of people flocking to apply for a relatively few low paying jobs at WalMart.

Yeah, this economy is just great:eyes:

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. So true :^(

[Gidney N Cloyd]

17. Most of Chicago is pretty solid but

the south side is really hurting. That's where some people want to build an unnecessary "third" airport. A lot of people on th e south side could find work elsewhere around Chicago but 1) mass transportation sucks and 2) lack of affordable housing in the parts of the metro area where the jobs are.

[MADem]

2. Uh, but, but ....but...the economy is BOOMING, per the Idiot King! n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

13. Um, The Operative Word There Is "Idiot"

An idiot surrounded by other idiots. Not good!
The Professor

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. How sad does this make you feel.... I can see the statue of liberty

hanging her head in shame over this..... what a crying shame.

[SpiralHawk]

4. "Mission accomplished." - George AWOL Bush & Corporate Cronies

All you Proles are henceforth required to rejoice at the OWNERSHIP SOCIETY.

"We own you." neoCON-Republican Cronies

[tyedyeto]

5. He sounds so proud of the fact that 25,000 people are unemployed

because of all the 'made in china' goods they sell. But we're hiring 325 of them for low wages and no benefits...see how we're helping the economy grow? What an asshole.

[rooboy]

6. Settle down folks... I'm sure these people already are earning big bucks

in major firms, but just want the incredible hourly rate and working conditions that Walmart offers. And don't forget the healthcare... ahhhh the healthcare....
:sarcasm:

[hatrack]

12. No, they're supporting their families buying and selling on EBay

Didn't you hear the Vice-President's brilliant summary of the New 'Murcan Economy?

[chat_noir]

7. discouraged workers?

Only 1 in 15 hired at Glendale Wal-Mart

When more than 8,000 people apply for 525 Wal-Mart jobs, it raises the question: What's really happening in our economy?

SNIP

Arizona State University economist Dawn McLaren said the surge of Wal-Mart job applicants along with the rising unemployment rate could indicate that more people are looking for work, especially the so-called discouraged workers who gave up and weren't counted among the unemployed. January's unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent and rose to 5.3 in February. The state labor force respectively was 2.74 million and 2.75 million

http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special37/articles/0414walmart.html

How many of those 24,500 Chicagoans are discouraged workers. Pretty high number I bet.

[Berserker]

8. The economy

is so good. This must be a sign that there will be 24,500 job openings in Chicago after the applicants leave their already lucrative jobs for a better one at walmart. The economy really is booming how come this is not on the news? I'm sure they can spin this.

[Flying Dream Blues]

9. They were "crowing" about 11,000 applicants in CA last year?

I guess this guy thinks this is some testament to the glory of WalMart vs. the sorry state of the economy? Not to mention the sad fact that of the applicants, 24,675 of them are out of luck.

Edited to add: How can anyone believe the continued "news" reports of our strong economy in the face of this?

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. One of these days those thousands of applicants they are

"crowing" about are going to be looting and burning that Walmart.

That's the sort of thing that desperate people do.

[newportdadde]

11. 25k people fighting over jobs that average 9.68 an hour....

says more then any government report or stat.

[JohnyCanuck]

14. Is Wal-Mart Good for America?

That's the title of a PBS Frontline documentary available on line (see link below).

Some experts contend Wal-Mart's "everyday low prices" are causing a clash between the interests of Americans as workers and the desires of Americans as consumers.

"If people were only consumers, buying things at lower prices would be just good. But people also are workers who need to earn a decent standard of living," says economist Larry Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute. "The dynamics that create lower prices at Wal-Mart and other places are also undercutting the ability of many, many workers to earn decent wages and benefits and have a stable life."

Economist Brink Lindsey of the Cato Institute sees it another way. "I think Wal-Mart is good for America," he says. "Wal-Mart is doing what the American economy is all about, which is producing things consumers want to buy … offering consumers a wide range of goods at rock-bottom prices. It is meeting the market test."

This is little consolation to the unemployed workers back in Circleville, Ohio. Steve Ratcliff, a long-time worker at the Thomson plant puts it simply: "If you want these low prices, then you go buy your products from Wal-Mart. But what does that actually do for this country? It's putting people out of work. And it's lowering our standard of living. That's the bottom line."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/view/

[DainBramaged]

15. "People who hadn't worked in a long time"

Assistant manager Rachael Fierro, who was still interviewing prospects Wednesday, said "we saw a little bit of everything -- people who hadn't worked for a long time, people who saw an opportunity to do something with themselves. That's the information I got from applicants."