A McJob looked mighty appealing to tens of thousands of people in the Chicago area.
More than 75,000 job-seekers applied for 2,000 area positions with McDonald's during the fast food king's first-ever "National Hiring Day" on April 19.
Applicants packed franchises in Illinois, Southern Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana. McDonald's filled all 2,000 jobs, including more than 1,000 posts in the Chicago area alone, a McDonald's spokesperson said.
Oak Brook-based McDonald Corp. offered 50,000 positions nationwide as part of the April 19 job fair.
The openings were for full- and part-time restaurant crew and management positions, which translate to about three or four new hires per store. Applicants were asked to apply at franchises or online.
Job offers took a couple of weeks, administrators said, because of mandatory background checks.
Some called the large-scale hiring day a stunt to make hires McDonald's would have made anyway, but the company said the 50,000 jobs represent an upswing in employment opportunities after turnover slowed in recent years.
Locals didn't disagree.
For the 73,000 that didn't land a new job with the company, the hiring isn't over.
Restaurant managers expect to boost staffing in the future, the company said.
McDonald's boasts about 1.7 million employees worldwide. The nationwide hiring spree is expected to increase its U.S. workforce by seven percent to 700,000.
