Coles receives 36,000 applications for 5,000 jobs

Labor MP Jason Clare says Coles having 36,000 applications for the 5,000 jobs in which it listed on Tuesday is a worrying sign of the “economic challenge” the country faces.

Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, the Labor frontbencher said it was a dramatic uptick from the usual 800 applications the company usually receives.

“Coles (is) advertising for 5,000 jobs at the moment, everything from stocking shelves to driving trucks and cash register work.

On an average day Coles tells me they have about 800 job applications – yesterday they had 36,000,” he said.

“That gives you a bit of an idea of the economic challenge the country faces at the moment.”