2,000 Line Up to Apply for 250 Wal-Mart Jobs; Bleak Economy Blamed : Oxnard: Applications will be taken through Friday. Employment workers say turnout shows a lowering of standards for wages.

In what state unemployment officials called a clear sign of a desperate economy, an estimated 2,000 people lined up Monday to apply for 250 positions at the Wal-Mart store planned for Oxnard.

“I’ve been looking for work for about four months,” said Laura Hernandez, 22, a Ventura resident who arrived at the Oxnard Community Center at 8:30 a.m. to find 100 people already in line ahead of her. “I didn’t expect to find so many people out here who were in the same position as me.”

Job seekers began lining up as early as 5:30 a.m., even though interviews were not scheduled to begin until 1 p.m. Most of those arriving after 1 p.m. were turned away--asked to return later this week.

Wal-Mart officials said they expect 7,000 applications by Friday for jobs at the new store.

Among those waiting for a shot at positions like cashier, sales clerk, stock person and greeter were college graduates, laid-off aerospace workers, single parents, and dozens of others from across Ventura County.

“I knew it was hard to find work, but I didn’t think I’d find anything like this,” said Amy Powell, 36, of Oxnard. “It’s a bad sign when all these people are willing to wait in line just for a chance to put in an application.”

State employment workers said they were dismayed by the size of the turnout.

“This is very discouraging,” said Bobbie Espinoza, the state’s employment program supervisor in Oxnard. “The economic picture is obviously still very bleak.”

State employment representative George Valle, who took an early morning jog by the center, saw the line already forming.

“I jogged by at 6 a.m. and saw them already on line and couldn’t believe it,” Valle said. “I just wanted to run away and never go back.”

Espinoza said the line was a particularly bad sign because it showed people were lowering their standards for the wages they hoped to earn.

Wal-Mart officials would not disclose how much the jobs would pay, but acknowledged they were low, hourly-wage positions.

“These jobs are not well-paying. There are nice benefits, but there are people here who used to work on assembly lines making good money,” Espinoza said.

Oxnard resident Patrick Marley, 37, who has been looking for work since he graduated from college in 1991, said the low wage was not a factor for him.

“I just want to be able to pay the rent,” he said. “This job has the added point of having benefits. That’s a major plus.”

The 147,000-square-foot store, which is due to open in October at 2001 N. Rose Ave., is still under construction.

Store Manager Wayne Inman examined the line that snaked for hundreds of yards around the parking lot on Hobson Way and smiled.

“It makes me feel good that we got such a good showing for this,” Inman said. “Of course, I think the economy is a factor in this. Any time someone can get a job with benefits, there’s going to be interest. I’m glad we could bring that opportunity here.”

Inman said that he and five assistant managers, who were brought in from other Wal-Mart stores, would screen every application and then interview about 700 candidates in the next several weeks.

“The people we hire will be friendly, enthusiastic, outgoing people,” he said. “That’s what we want.”

Wal-Mart will accept applications from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today through Friday at a trailer in front of the community center at 800 Hobson Way.

“I just hope a lot of people get impatient or discouraged and don’t stick around,” said Christopher Gonzalez, the 24-year-old Oxnard resident who was last in Monday’s line. “I’ve been looking for a job for two years. I’m not about to get impatient.”