Less than a month ago, Hyundai announced it would be adding a third shift at its Alabama assembly plant , resulting in an additional 877 jobs. You'd imagine with Alabama running a 7.2-percent unemployment rate in April – ranking right in the middle of the 50 states – competition for those jobs would be pretty serious. But nobody, least of all Hyundai , expected this. As of May 22, the automaker had received some 18,500 applications, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.To put that into perspective, the Montgomery metropolitan area has an adult population of just over 282,000, meaning the applicant pool at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama represents more than six percent of nearby residents. Hyundai was so flooded with applicants that it temporarily shut down the process on May 18, warning job seekers that any applications it received after that date would likely go unprocessed. Hyundai only expects to screen between 6,000-7,000 applicants according to the report.The company began seeing applicants on May 14, and by working 13-hour days, it has been processing roughly 200 each day. Applicants are asked to take a multiple-choice test during the 90-minute interview and those that get asked back will be given a six-hour training course, according to the report. Hyundai expects the hiring process to be completed by mid-July, in advance of launching the third shift after Labor Day.