AN incredible 1,400 people have applied for just 118 jobs at a new Tesco superstore.

Bosses at the Little Lever supermarket — due to open at the end of this month — say they have been overwhelmed by the response to their recruitment drive.

The figures mean 12 job seekers have applied for every available full-time and part-time position at the store In Crossley Street.

The announcement has come as a shock to many people in the village, who are surprised by the number of people looking for work.

Kate Owen, aged 35, of Aintree Road, Little Lever, said: “I’m concerned about unemployment rates. It’s really bad that 1,400 people in this area could be out of work — I wouldn’t have thought there would be that many applying for jobs.”

Cllr Paul Richardson, who represents Little Lever, said creating 118 new jobs in the village would be good news for the village — provided they went to local people.

He said: “It’s a positive move for the village if the people who get these jobs are from Little Lever.

“I hope these people will be given priority and I will be very pleased if that is the case, as we want our people to be rewarded for the potential disruptions the store will cause.

“We will have to wait and see whether the new Tesco is a success — it will require changing shopping habits for people who may normally shops at Morrison’s, ASDA and other nearby stores.

“I’m looking forward to Tesco’s input into the Little Lever community and I hope it does for the village what we want it to do for the village.”

Tesco store manager Karen Shaul and her senior management team are interviewing potential candidates.

Mrs Shaul said: “We have been overwhelmed with the response to our recruitment drive and, so far, we have carried out 200 interviews but have many more candidates still to see.

"As well as advertising the jobs online, we have worked with the Job Centre and have taken part in a careers fair at Bolton College.

“It is important to us that we recruit the best team possible to serve our customers in Little Lever.”

Jobs at the store will vary from team leaders to checkout operators and managers.

The new recruits will join 45 colleagues who are transferring from the existing Tesco Metro store in Market Street in Little Lever, which will close when the new store opens.

Tesco will also appoint a new Community Champion to help the store engage with the local community and provide support where needed.

As well as new employees, Mrs Shaul is looking forward to welcoming new customers to the store.

She said: “Our new store will offer customers everything that they love about their current Tesco Metro store but with even more choice and I’m thrilled that we have been able to give a jobs boost to the town as well.”

It was reported last month that unemployment has fallen in Bolton by 4.8 per cent.

Figures revealed the number of jobless locally in August fell to 4,604 from 4,961 the previous month.

The unemployment rate stands at three per cent of the available working population compared to the regional average of 2.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent nationally.