Hey, Mr. Easter Bunny — You might want to tone it down a bit this year. Tensions are high with all the pressures of the recession and your big fuzzy ears and basket of brightly colored eggs may not go over so well with those who've fallen on hard times.
It seemed innocent enough: A training center for JobCentre, the U.K. equivalent of the Labor Department, had organized an Easter egg hunt for the unemployed.
Job seekers would hunt for chocolate eggs containing prizes such as a job-application form to become a security guard, a payment for a license to work on building sites and vouchers to buy interview clothes.
A JobCentre representative said they thought it would be fun. But they thought wrong. Job seekers were furious, saying they were embarrassed enough just to have to sign up with the employment agency. Asking them to hunt around for eggs was “humiliating.”
“Some of us are not proud of signing on, and this just rubs our face in it,” Graham Barnes, an unemployed 31-year-old, told the Daily Mail.
“It seems like a kick while people are down,” Michael Harknett-Wilson, an unemployed banker, told the South London Press newspaper.
Amid the uproar, the event, scheduled for today, was canceled.
Personally, I would’ve done it just for the chocolate. But then again, not everyone likes their unemployment candy-coated.
Pony Treats:
Recession-Proof Bonnet. Recession or not, some women wouldn't be caught dead without a new hat for Easter.
Easter Dresses for Dogs. They say pets are recession proof and Easter is no exception — check out these Easter duds for dogs.
More From CNBC.com:
- Lost Your Job? Turn It Into a Dream Vacation
- Recession Special: Free Dry Cleaning for the Unemployed
- Why Can't You Land That Job?
- Party Like It's 2007: The Spring Break Economy
- Making Ends Meet With Raccoon Meat
- Layoffs: The Videogame
- Slideshow: Worst Jobs in America
Questions? Comments? Write to ponyblog@cnbc.com.
