A NEW supermarket has been buckling under the weight of applications for its jobs.
The new Tesco Express in Eastney Road, received 782 applications for 13 new jobs – 60 per vacancy.
Yesterday the Unison union revealed that regionally there are on average 2.7 people chasing every vacancy, though service jobs such as in retail are always more popular.
Store manager, Andy Tew, and his team promoted the new jobs online and through the Job Centre Plus – with results which led to all vacancies being filled by local people.
Mr Tew said: ‘I was thrilled by the response we received to our recruitment drive.
‘In this time of economic uncertainty, it is great that we are able to create jobs for our community and help get people back into work.
‘I am really pleased with my new team and I’m looking forward to working with them. We are delighted to be opening a Tesco Express store on Eastney Road and look forward to playing an active role in the community.’
Detailed analysis by Unison shows that, in the south east, there are 2.7 people chasing every vacant job.
Some local authorities in the region are far harder hit. On the Isle of Wight there are 23.7 people chasing every single advertised job, making it the hardest local authority area in England, Wales and Scotland in which to find a job.
In Chichester there are 3.2 Jobseekers Allowance claimaints for every job, while over the border in Havant there are 8.8.
In Fareham there are 1.7 while in neighbouring Gosport there are 6.6.
Portsmouth has 4.1 while east Hampshire as a whole has 2.
Phil Wood, south east regional secretary for Unison, said: ‘The scale of the ongoing jobs crisis is deeply worrying.
‘Three long years of cuts – with more to come – and still there are not enough jobs to go around.
‘The government has got it wrong on the recession and it has sacrificed our recovery. As well as laying waste to our public services, cuts have a stranglehold on the private sector.
‘The government does have a choice. Use the budget to outline a bold strategy for jobs and growth. Make people feel secure in their jobs and they are more likely to spend. Give public sector workers a decent pay rise and more money will flow through tills in local shops and businesses, helping our beleaguered high streets.’
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