McDonald's to hire 50,000 employees in April

Fast-food chain McDonald's Corp, trying to grab positive headlines in an economic recovery still struggling to create living-wage jobs, announced on Monday that it would do all of its spring hiring in one fell swoop.

The world's biggest hamburger chain - which for years has wanted to stop the use of "McJob" as shorthand for low-wage, dead-end work - said it plans to hire up to 50,000 new US workers on April 19.

The jobs range from restaurant crew to managers.

Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski told Reuters that the announcement "certainly seems like a way to attract some favourable publicity around something it was more or less going to do anyway."

McDonald's said the hiring blitz would increase its US workforce by 7.7 per cent to 700,000 - which is no different from prior summer staff increases.

"Our total hires are similar to past years, but the goal of hiring 50,000 people in one day across the US is unique," McDonald's spokeswoman Ashlee Yingling told Reuters.

"Our total hires are similar to past years, but the goal of hiring 50,000 people in one day across the US is unique," McDonald's spokeswoman Ashlee Yingling said. 

The April hiring event is preparation for the busy summer months. "But these are not just seasonal jobs. It's a mix of permanent and temporary jobs," Yingling said.

She added that McDonald's hourly employees typically make more than minimum wage, often more than $8 per hour.

There are some 14,000 McDonald's restaurants in the United States. Ninety per cent of McDonald's US restaurants are run by franchisees, and pay varies by ownership.

Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's said in a statement that its April hiring event is an opportunity to highlight that "a McJob is one with career growth and endless possibilities."

Yingling said many of McDonald's top executives and franchisees worked their way up the company ranks.

Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski told Reuters that the announcement "certainly seems like a way to attract some favorable publicity around something it was more or less going to do anyway".

McDonald's said it and its franchisees would be spending an extra $518 million on wages and salaries for the 50,000 new workers it plans to hire.

McDonald's reported that February sales at its US restaurants open at least 13 per cent rose 2.7 per cent compared with a year earlier.

The US employment grew firmly for a second straight month in March and the jobless rate hit a two-year low of 8.8 per cent, underscoring a decisive shift in the labour market that should help to underpin the recovery.

That is better news for some than others.

Income growth for the top-earning US workers has risen sharply since the 1980s, while the loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs has led to stagnation at the low end.

Workers earnings and corporate earnings also have barely risen so far this year.

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