Posted on 12/27/2019 4:56:55 AM PST by karpov
Rank-and-file workers are getting bigger raises this year—at least in percentage terms—than bosses.
Wages for the typical worker—nonsupervisory employees who account for 82% of the workforce—are rising at the fastest rate in more than a decade, a sign that the labor market has tightened sufficiently to convey bigger pay increases to lower-paid employees. Gains for those workers have accelerated much of this year, a time when the unemployment rate fell to a half-century low. A short supply of workers, increased poaching and minimum-wage increases have helped those nearer to the bottom of the pay scale.
Pay for the bottom 25% of wage earners rose 4.5% in November from a year earlier, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Wages for the top 25% of earners rose 2.9%. Similarly, the Atlanta Fed found wages for low-skilled workers have accelerated since early 2018, and last month matched the pace of high-skill workers for the first time since 2010.
“A strong labor market makes the bargaining power of lower-paid workers more like the labor market higher-wage workers experience during good times and bad,” Nick Bunker, economist with job search site Indeed.com, said.
Labor Department data paint a similar picture. Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in the private sector were up 3.7% in November from a year earlier—stronger than the 3.1% advance for all employees—Implying managers and other nonproduction workers saw a 1.6% wage increase in the past year. The department doesn’t produce separate management pay figures.
Nonsupervisory workers earned an average of $23.83 an hour in November according to the Labor Department; managers earned about twice that rate.
Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a restaurant chain based in Plano, Texas, with 75 U.S. locations, is among the places that has lifted starting wages to fill positions.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Yes, when there aren’t enough low paid illegals, employers need to pay more for citizens.
When a person moves to another company for more pay, if the company still needs people, one of the first things they ask is “Who do you know at your old job who you might like to lure here?”
translation: All of the things that Wall Street-types put into place to PREVENT this from ever happening are being successfully dismantled by Trump.
Lately it’s tougher for someone WITH a degree to get a job than one without, at least where I’m living.
I suppose that's technically poaching but I consider those employees fair game, so long as they didn't sign an anti-compete clause.
There's a good reason for that. Typically the ones with college degrees expect to be paid more and shun entry level positions, especially those that could be perceived as "blue collar."
I say typically. There are exceptions.
In my case, the ones with degrees are turned away from blue collar jobs because the jobs “want someone who will stay.”
Which makes sense but is still aggravating for me because I’m trapped in the middle.
Thank YOU President Trump...
When I was doing hiring, I felt the same way. The new employee will not recommend any losers, because HE will be judged badly as a result.
Exactly.
So what you’re saying is we can’t use land mines?
:-)
That’s how it was in the 1970’s, too.
My dad had an annuity, an Army pension, and disability.
An amount that was quite decent in 1968 was a pittance in 1978.
I’m fortunate to have two defined benefit plans, but neither of them has much in the way of COLA, so I’ll be golden at 64, but I’m quite well aware that a mortgage payment in 2023 might be a skimpy bag of groceries in 2030
I took “poaching” here to mean one company attempting to recruit employees away from another.
People are calling up known entities and asking them to apply/move to their business. So long as there are no non compete clauses, there is a lot of fair game.
We have sons, nephews, nieces and DIL’s getting job offers or pay increases to stay.
One DIL has run a small dance class 3 days a week for years. She just got an offer she couldn’t turn down. Two students in her dance class started a small clothing store part time, and they offered her a 3 day a week job paying her for eight hours for 5 hours. She was a regional manager for a big chain clothing store before her first child was born.
Her college son, when he is home for holidays has two places that he works.
Her college age daughter works for a premium dept store in their online division. That company laid off a dozen + people in her department after Christmas eve. She got a bonus and will work 2+ weeks until she returns to college. She was back to work the day after Christmas. The store has great clothes and gives employees like her excellent discounts. She will be able to buy civilian dress clothes for the spring/summer time with the discounts and $’s paid to her during this time. They have asked her to come back during her spring break, and she will. I kidded her to ask for them to pay her flight round trip to/from the east coast. She was amazed when they said that was possible.
Smart and good workers are at a premium now.
When it comes to people in the country without proper documentation, the majority of them came to the United States legally — but then didn’t leave.
But as for the ones at the borders, they won’t try to climb the fence. They have found out that isn’t a good idea.
There are an estimated 3 million illegal entries into the United States each year: between South and North America, most migrants are smuggled in trucks across the border, though many have been noted where travel is also done by foot, rail, air or even through dedicated tunnels. None of which the wall in the middle of no where has anything to do with other than force them to pay smugglers to do the work.
It is estimated that just under one third of all immigrants in the United States of America are there illegally, with about 80 per cent of the illegal immigrant population in the country originating in South America (as well as Mexico). Of all illegal immigrants in the United States, an estimated as much as 40 per cent entered the country on a legal visa and then overstayed, and the remainder entered the country clandestinely.
When you consider there are an estimated 11 million illegals in the country on the average, then as much as 4.4 million came in here legally, at one point. That leaves 6.6 million that got in here illegally. In Texas alone, last year, there were just under 2 million illegal entries alone.
The smugglers prefer to work like the cartels. There are only a dozen-or-so official “ports of entry” along the border line. They are highly regulated and policed, but smugglers much prefer to exploit their predictability and rationality than to scatter resources across open expanses of desert and river. Traffickers have carefully studied how security operates in each checkpoint, which means they can observe and instantly respond to weaknesses, such as when inspections are relaxed in order to speed up the through-flow of traffic, or when a corrupt inspection officer with a willing blind eye comes on duty. Of course, it’s likely that not all shipments will get through the checkpoints on any given day, but such losses are factored into calculations, and it’s still better than risking people and product in an unpredictable wilderness. And a vast majority of foot traffic either will die or get caught in the desert. So why try it? This is why California started putting water fountains in their deserts. People were dying.
The wall is nice, but until the states themselves take the bull by the horns and assist the feds, the numbers will be out of hand and the courts have backups far bigger than finished cases each year by a long way.
And there are hot spots. The Rio Grande Valley Sector has seen the lion’s share of the apprehensions in the Trump era — making up some 45 percent of them along the southwestern border in the 2017 fiscal year. And within the sector, Starr County, on the western edge, is the epicenter. If that’s the case, then the miles of desert that do not have any abductions are for show, not policing. If they did a better job, then the aircraft that carry and vehicles that also carry were apprehended, then there wouldn’t need to be a wall other than to mark the border.
And when you consider the congressional mandate for border patrol agents for 2019 is 21,370 to cover just under 2,000 miles of proposed border wall, along with control the entry points requiring 24 hour surveillance and operations, and 48 U.S.–Mexico border crossings, with 330 ports of entry, there can’t be a real fast response to illegal crossings especially when their are cars waiting for them.
Looks good, and establishes a strong stay out appearance, but we’re working against smart people trying to beat us. And they will because there are too many people here trying not to help us within our own.
rwood
“But it is a necessary start.”
Yes it is. But it is not the answer to the problem. I feel that until the states involved don’t consider the act illegal, and enforce it, we’re pounding sand down a rat hole.
rwood
You lose credibility by going with the 11 million illegals farce.
“we can’t use land mines?”
The cartels and smugglers would just get dogs.
rwood
Don't tell 'em about your degree. In the end, you may end up staying anyway.
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.