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Stacey Vanek-Smith: Food prices have jumped a lot this year because of expensive oil. That’s had consumers tightening their belts, and hungry Brits lovin’ the low cost of fast food. Now, a very American company searching for new workers across the pond, as Stephen Beard reports.

Stephen Beard: McDonald’s has long been an object of scorn in some quarters in Britain. Derided for dumbing down the British palate. Accused of fueling the country’s obesity problem.

But McDonald’s U.K. has confounded the critics. Business is buoyant. As the economy turns down, cheap fast food looks even more appetizing.

Today, the company is looking for 4,000 extra workers. And here’s the head of that recruitment campaign, David Fairhurst:

David Fairhurst: We’ve got very strong business performance. We’ve delivered nine consecutive quarters of growth. And we’re serving 2 million more customers each month. And we are performing well, despite consumers feeling the pinch.

The recruitment campaign does face a minor obstacle: An issue of reputation. The Oxford English Dictionary still defines McJob as “an unstimulating, low-paid position with few prospects.” McDonald’s says this definition is “out of date and insulting.”

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.