McDonald's will launch a recruitment drive today to fill 4000 new "McJobs" following strong UK growth.

The fast food giant said it was serving an extra two million customers a month compared with last year, defying the high street downturn.

Takings in the UK rose by about 10% in the first half of this year, while global sales have increased by 6.1% since the start of April, the company said.

It said improvements to the menu, extended opening hours, the refurbishment of restaurants and free Wi-Fi had helped drive growth, with up to 10 new restaurants planned for the UK this year.

The new My McJob campaign aims to encourage a "reappraisal" among potential employees of the career benefits and opportunities available at McDonald's, the company said. It will see McDonald's "celebrate rather than defend the term McJob" for the first time.

In 2006, the company launched the Not Bad for a McJob campaign, and last year began a public petition to change the dictionary definition of McJob.

The company's UK senior vice-president, David Fairhurst, said: "This campaign is an important milestone in the evolution of McDonald's recruitment advertising, signalling a more confident and assertive attitude towards the McJob term."

McDonald's UK chief executive Steve Easterbrook said: "Creating 4000 new jobs is great news for our business and our franchises, particularly in these tougher trading times."