Wanna job? Get down to McDonalds

Two contrasting stories about the employment market recently illustrate really well how different businesses are coping in the economic downturn…

On the one hand, the overall level of unemployment is rising quite sharply in the UK. A report from the Office for National Statistics revealed that 1.67m people were out of work in June 2008 – up 60,000 since March 2008. Your local or regional newspaper will be full of stories of local businesses who are announcing redundancies as part of cost-cutting strategies - all of these add to the unemployment total.

However, on the other hand, there is McDonalds, which has just announced that it is to create 4,000 jobs across the UK in response to soaring demand. McDonalds claims that it is serving two million more customers every month in the UK than last year, and it has launched a recruitment campaign to attract workers at all levels. The new positions will boost the company’s total workforce by 6%.

McDonald’s ‘My McJob’ campaign will feature existing employees talking about the career benefits and job opportunities available. Posters will be seen by about two million people each day. They will be displayed in McDonald’s 1,200 restaurants from today, as well as in print and online.

So what is McDonalds doing right?

The company puts its strong sales growth down to a range of changes:
- menu changes,
- extended opening hours
- restaurant refurbishments
- addition of free wi-fi

It could also be that, as the credit crunch bites into consumer spending, we are increasingly looking for the value of a fast-food meal, and never mind the implications for healthy eating!