Unemployed Applicants Swarm Theme Parks

If you see a long line outside Disneyland, don’t worry—it’s probably for job applicants, not Space Mountain. A job fair at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, drew 1,600 people—in the rain. Universal Studios received more than 1,100 job applications in one day last month, and Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm have received so many applications they are postponing their job fairs. Applications are coming from everyone from unemployed mortgage agents to sales clerks to construction workers looking for temporary positions. With the unemployment rate in California at 12.4 percent, those theme-park jobs are no longer just for teenagers seeking their first jobs. “We are getting a lot of people who, in a normal economy, would be considered overqualified,” said a manager at Universal Studios Hollywood. Anyone have a Fast Pass?