Many people applied to work in fire departments, but very few were willing to be firefighters, job placement officials said.

During an online recruitment drive, the Shanghai Job Placement Center said it received more than 3,200 applicants for a total of 471 jobs as firefighters, cooks, drivers and office workers.

Most of the applicants were young and from the city's rural areas, officials said.

However, 1,005 applicants wanted office work, the most popular position of those available.

Another 816 applied to work as fire engine drivers, the second highest total.

Only 117 firefighter vacancies were available and officials said the number of applicants was lower than expected. The center did not disclose the number of firefighter applicants.

Ye Xiaoqing, a center official, said young people prefer easy jobs that don't require manual labor.

"Young job applicants nowadays tend to take easy and less demanding jobs. But that will make things more difficult for their career development," Ye said.

Office work applicants were required to be aged between 22 and 35 and hold at least a college degree. They will be paid 1,800 yuan (US$222) per month to manage files and documents at a fire brigade. Firefighters earn a similar salary.

"It's nice if I can get an office job with a steady income and favorable benefits in a government department," said Zhu Lin, a recent university graduate.

Zhu said that being a firefighter was too dangerous and demanding.

(Shanghai Daily June 13, 2006)