The article in the url below reports the number of job applications received by Walmart when it advertised 600 vacancies recently for a new store that it is planning to open in Washington D.C.:
“The store is currently combing through more than 23,000 applications for 600 available positions. … That means that Wal-Mart will be able to hire one person for every 38 applications it receives — i.e., just 2.6% of applicants will walk out with a job.”
Walmart is often criticized for paying below market wage rates. In reality, however, the firm routinely receives applications that are many multiples of however many job openings it has. This case may be extreme (no doubt exaggerated by the economic situation), but the phenomenon is common. The article illustrates its point by making a clever comparison:
“That's more difficult than getting into Harvard. The Ivy League university accepts 6.1% of applicants.”
The question this story generates is: Is Walmart paying above or below market rates for the jobs it is advertising?
Have a good weekend.
David
David Chandler & Bill Werther
Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: http://www.sagepub.com/chandler3e/
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Applicants For Jobs At The New DC Walmart Face Worse Odds Than People Trying To Get Into Harvard
By Ashley Lutz
November 19, 2013
Business Insider
