Posted on 06/14/2018 8:00:10 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
A labor shortage issue is increasingly weighing on small businesses around the country. This comes despite record-high confidence on Main Street.
In May, one-third of small-business owners reported job openings they could not fill, and 12 percent reported using temporary workers.
Mike Fredrich shows off unmanned presses in his Manitowoc, Wisconsin, company. They're ready to start production at MCM Composites, a 55-person enterprise that makes custom thermoset molding.
The only problem? Fredrich has no one to operate them.
"These tools are heated to 300 degrees," he said. "But we're not running them. Had we had the people for the first shift, we could have been running this all day. But we don't, so they sit here heated, ready to go, with no action."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Is it more than minimum wage, or could you make as much staying at home collecting benefits? Or, are today's workers just too lazy?
I think a shortage of workers is good for most of us, but could this lead to inflation?
I'm old enough to remember the hyper inflation of the late 70s and that truly sucked. People on fixed incomes took it in the cheeks.
Still, I want to see more people working and getting paid, which, incidently, pays back the deficit and adds much needed $ to Social Security coffers, for example.
Sorry, missed the link:
Have no fear, the “Repubicans” are working on a “Solution!”
Millions are unemployed and not counted in the workforce.
Many are incapable of getting a job due to drug use. poor edication or just plain laziness.
Get rid of welfare for the able-bodied and that will change.
There is no such thing as a shortage of workers and anyone who ever tells you that is a fool or a liar.
There is only insufficient wages. You offer enough money you can get someone to do anything you need to do.
All these “shortage of workers” articles are really bids to suppress wages, which are finally starting to rise after decades of stagnation.
They had to invent a new word to describe how truly bad that was: stagflation, which meant that wages and jobs were stagnant, but inflation was through the roof. At the same, interest rates were rising to 20% or more. It also coincided with the collapse of some of the heavy industry, such as steel. It affected everyone.
Bull.
Time to start upping those salaries or sweetening the benifits.
That’s part of the dance of capitalism.
“I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.” ― Benjamin Franklin
Bottom line: Decline to take employment without a valid reason and have your bennies cut off. Sounds like that employer will train applicants and pay fairly to increase his business.
I visited one such company on Monday. Although the need to grow is being felt after nearly 10 years of being stagnant, there are no capable workers in a small city with many small industrial companies.
It might also be noted that if the known illegals were sent home, the labor deficit would be near mortal to the city. People already drive in excess of 40 miles from a large city for jobs.
As the economy picks up, that source will also dry up.
BS. They just want H-1B foreign cheapo workers.
So, pay more to suck the detritus out of the scum at the bottom of the barrel. Is that your solution?
You may also have to lower lower expectations.
When all of you applicants have more tats than you like to see, and most have some kind of drug history, you can either raise wages to an absurd level, or accept lower quality workers.
Boom! You win the thread post award! (I was going to post something similar but you did it first and a better job of it as well!
It’s far easier to pan handle a few hours a day, collect welfare, select your groceries from food banks, camp outdoors in national parks, and get free cell phones and other stuff from the government. Why work?
Raise the offering price Mike, the workers will show up is the price is right.
Eliminate the minimum wage and let the free market dictate the going rate for a job.
The wage one must pay to find an acceptable worker for a job is called a “market wage”, which by definition is not only not absurd but has a greater claim to be just and correct compensation than any other figure.
Supply and demand. If you are looking for something in short supply you must pay more than if you are looking for something plentiful.
That’s what I’m thinking. Fundamentally, people will come if enough is offered.
The business needs to decide if staying in business means paying more for workers or not paying too much. At least some costs were cut this year due to the Tax Bill.
Making and keeping a profit is hard. you could easily make a deficit by paying too much, or by not having enough skilled workers to get your product made and sold.
Bottom line I think they need to offer more and they’ll get the workers they need.
Perhaps spend a little more on training those who would work, but don’t yet have the skills.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.