The Bank of Italy has been inundated with applications after advertising 30 clerical jobs

Permanent jobs are becoming a rarity in Italy’s sclerotic economy — so much so that the central bank has received nearly 85,000 applications for 30 clerical vacancies.

To whittle down the numbers, it is only considering applicants with degrees, immediately reducing the number of candidates to 8,000.

After a multiple-choice exam, 300 candidates will be invited for the final interview stage, giving them a one-in-ten chance of a job, a considerable improvement on the starting odds at the beginning of the process of about one in 2,830.

Successful candidates will be employed classifying and filing documents on an annual salary of €28,000.

It is humble work for a graduate but the jobs are secure and offer the possibility of climbing the internal promotion ladder; a