On Friday March 26th this author applied for a part-time job delivering cupcakes.  The position included a couple of hours of work, several days a week, and paid a rate of remuneration marginally above the minimum wage.

A day later I received a response from the company indicating that they had encountered over 400 applications for the single position.

This is the unemployment climate which continues to persist despite protestations to the contrary and the narrative of an economic recovery.   
 
And things are about to get much worse.