85,000 APPLY FOR 30 LOW-LEVEL BANK JOBS

Italy’s chronic unemployment problem has been thrown into sharp relief after 85,000 people applied for 30 jobs at a bank — nearly 3,000 candidates for each post. With youth unemployment close to 40 per cent and the overall level at 11 per cent, steady jobs are in great demand. But managers at the Bank of Italy were still astounded by the huge number of people who contacted them. The 30 junior jobs come with an annual salary of $41,000. The work is not glamorous — one duty is feeding cash into machines that can distinguish bank notes that are counterfeit or worn. The Bank of Italy whittled down the applicants to a short-list of 8,000, all of them first-class graduates with a solid academic record. The lucky few will take up their new jobs next year.