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As residents of Cleveland recently discovered, one way to measure the health of the economy is by the number of people who turn out for jobs at a brand new Wal-Mart Supercenter. Jesse Russell reports:

More than 6000 people are looking for jobs in Cleveland’s Steelyard Commons district. How do we know? That is how many people who turned out when a new Wal-Mart opening in the area put out a call for job applicants. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, there are 300 jobs available at the new Supercenter, so more than 5700 applicants walked away without a new job. The unemployment rate in Ohio is currently at 5.9 percent while the national average is 4.7 percent. Job applications at new Wal-Marts can be a used as a gauge of how desperate individuals are for employment in an area. A new store opening is also a chance for a step up from an even lower paying job.