More tots have no slots.

Nearly 7,000 wee ones have been shut out from seats in public pre-kindergarten programs for the fall — more than twice the number left seatless after a first round of applications two years ago, new data shows.

The leap in the number of kids not matched to programs of their choice comes after a seismic surge in applicants — from about 20,000 families vying for spots in 2008 to nearly 25,000 applying this year.

“I think it’s . . . because of the job crunch and the financial situation,” said Wendy Levey, director of the independent Epiphany Community Nursery School in Manhattan. “People can’t afford private school at $35,000 a head, but they also can’t sell their apartments, or they don’t want to move to the suburbs.”

The pre-K rush will force more than one in four families who applied this year to submit new applications for a second round scheduled to begin next month.