A restaurant in Manchester has revealed it was inundated with applications for a receptionist job, having received 963 CVs within just 24 hours of advertising the position.
20 Stories, a rooftop bar and restaurant that opened in central Manchester in 2018, found there was high demand for the advertised receptionist role, which attracted a 'staggering' number of candidates.
D&D London, which owns the site, said it had to close applications early following 'unprecedented' interest, with unemployment soaring due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Carol Cairnes, of D&D London, said it was 'sad' to see just how many workers are currently in need of a job.
She told Manchester Evening News: "The sheer number of applicants is staggering, we've never seen such a large number come through in such a short amount of time.
"Whilst it means we will have the pick of an incredibly large number of highly qualified candidates, it's very sad to see how many people are in need of employment.
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"I would love to be able to offer them all the position, but of course that's just not possible at this time."
Unfortunately, the issue isn't an isolated one, with other bars and restaurants up and down the country facing similarly competitive levels of interest for jobs.
The Alexandra pub in Wimbledon, south London, advertised two £9-an-hour roles and had 484 people apply within five days.
General manager Mick Dore tweeted: "I don't want to alarm anyone about the economy or anything, but I advertised two bar jobs at 4.30pm on Thursday. We've had well over 400 applications. Gulp."
As well as the overwhelming volume of applications, Dore told The Times he was also alarmed by the quality of candidates, which ranged from former air stewards, restaurant managers and experienced shop workers recently made redundant.
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Rob Fisher, who runs the Fitzrovia Belle Pub and Hotel in central London, also received more than 400 applicants for just a few roles.
He told the newspaper: "The quality of people looking for work right now is as good as it ever has been. Unfortunately it's because of the situation people have found themselves in."
Last week, the Times reports that job site Indeed has seen a 589 percent increase in the number of searches for 'supermarket' roles compared with this time last year, while maintenance job searches are 440 percent up and forklift operator searches are 239 percent up.
Conversely, job postings on the site are 59 percent down.
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