Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

People in Shanghai react coolly to job offers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc, a senior human resource official with the world's largest retailer complained yesterday.
The company managed to recruit 163 college graduates as intern management staff for its first Shanghai store in Pudong, its 48th store on China's mainland.  The enrollees are receiving training for Wal-Mart's grand opening in the city on July 28.
"The situation here is in sharp contrast to that in other Chinese cities, as job applications are much lower," Wang Pei, Wal-Mart HR vice-president, told Oriental Morning Post.
He revealed that at job fairs in other cities, Wal-Mart attracts more than 2,000 job seekers per day, whereas in Shanghai it attracted a total of 2,000 people over the four-day fair. 
"It is unsatisfactory," Wang said, blaming local people's low evaluation of the retailing sector for the poor turnout.
"People tend to think its unstable to work in hypermarkets, with a feeling that they may get laid-off at any moment," he said.
In fact, the company provides salaries and compensation packages competitive in the retailing industry, Wang pointed out.
Though not specifying details, he said Wal-Mart's offerings will be superior to other major hypermarkets such as Lotus and Carrefour.
Workers with good performance will be promoted, he added.  An intern manager, for example, may be promoted to vice general manager within three years, if the person performs excellently.
Wal-Mart is eager to attract talented staff to meet the demands of its expansion strategy, Wang noted. Next year, the company plans to open two or three outlets per month across the nation.  Before Shanghai, Wal-Mart opened stores in Beijing and Wuhan, and in Shenzhen and other southern cities.