9,000 rush to fair offering 5,000 jobs with insurance firm

About 9,000 people flocked to a recruitment fair yesterday where an insurance company was offering 5,000 jobs.

With the unemployment rate at a record high of seven per cent, the jobseekers said they were attracted by the prospect of being able to earn more through commission payments. Others said they regarded the work as a stopgap during the economic downturn.

The jobs on offer provide a month's training and between $3,000 and $10,000 a month as basic pay, depending on experience. Commission is paid on sales.

The fair organiser, the American International Assurance Company, said the average income for securing the sale of 60 policies worth $8,000 each a year would be about $30,000 a month in the first year.

A freelance writer and former journalist, 30, said he believed career opportunities in insurance were far greater than in the media.

'In the media you get no extra pay even if you spend a whole night writing. But at least in the insurance field if you work harder you will probably get more reward,' he said.