Posted on 10/25/2021 2:51:39 AM PDT by EBH
Imho the biggest shock to the labor market has been the baby boomers dropping out of the labor market, whether for full or part time work.
Fear of Covid started the trend last year.
The red hot stock market gave many seniors with retirement savings there less need to work.
Many have interesting hobbies which became small work at home businesses.
That is a big chunk of the low wage labor market, since traditionally many seniors would semi-retire and keep a low wage job on the side (partially for the extra money and partially for the social contact).
I see old farts working the checkout lines at grocery stores. And I think you're right about the social contact and probably a little spare change for gifts to the grandchildren. I recognize one who was a superindendent in my home town many years ago. He surely has a generous pension and doesn't need the money. Just likes chatting up the ladies. Plus the geezers actually show up for work every day and on time.
Employers pay wages comensurate with the skills of the worker & the demands of the job. NO experience? Not starting at the top.
NO EMPLOYER should be forced to pay wages to support the LIFE STYLE these kids are demanding today.
Just got out of college? Applying for a salesman job???
I am NOT going to pay you a much higher starting salary just because YOU have a brand new BMW to pay for & insure. Of to pay for you cell phone bills & vacation plans in South American Andes.
You haven’t proven to me you can sell anything-—much less show up for work on time, consistently, with a proper attitude & proper grooming and hygiene.
There are a lot of folks here who hate business owners for some reason. I suppose they have been burned in the past, especially for IT.
I can tell you that my husband’s business is paying $17 an hour plus benefits, for entry-level jobs that are typically filled by teenagers. And our cost of living here is low. He has given across-the-board raises as well. He is not losing employees, most of his employees have been with him over ten years and enjoy their jobs. But business volume is at a point that he needs more employees and cannot find them. He is hiring people over the phone and pretty much anyone who shows up at the door (that is legal). He puts ads on indeed and other places and gets few calls, and some that do, never show up.
It is the same with businesses all around him, including white-collar jobs.
He has not raised prices yet, but the cost of materials is going up a lot and that is coming. We have personally taken a cut in income to pay our employees more, and he is also working 60-70 hours a week right alongside his employees (again, doing jobs teens would normally do). If the mandates ever happen, that is likely the end for his business. He’s not going to do that to his employees.
But to listen to some people on here, these types of business owners do not exist. They do, and he knows many doing the same thing he is. Working their backsides off, trying to juggle keeping employees happy, keep the business going, and keep the product affordable. It is NOT easy
“There is no such thing as labor shortage. The real problem is a WAGE shortage.
As noted in many comments above.
A business model that depends on low wages is not a business at all. It’s a shiitey hobby that exploits people and resources. The ultimate in rent-seeking behavior.
Double-digit inflation means double-digit pay increases should be expected. Small businesses are obviously being targeted as part of the larger economic hit, but small businesses are also too often expecting that their employees will absorb the pricing squeeze.
Services like dog walking should be in declining demand given the increase of professionals working from home, so providers are probably particularly afraid to attempt price hikes.
Unfortunately, most companies that don’t go for the lowest cost denominators go out of business. That has long been the case.
“Quality of life is part of it... extra money in a family is suppose to bring extra happiness. Turncs out that’s not as true as people thought.”
So right!
I know several families that were two income households. When the lockdown came they had to tighten their belts for awhile. They realized they could have a happier life on less income. The families got used to being together and found out they enjoyed having mom home.
It was worth not buying a new car/truck to have mom at home.
Then there was the online schooling and moms and dads actually got to see what their kids were being taught. It was a wake-up call. Some of the parents I talked to couldn’t believe the crap their kids were being taught. Now mom has time to review the kids school work, go to parent-teacher and PTA meetings.
The teachers and school boards aren’t terribly happy to see these Tiger Moms demanding that real history, math, economics, etc be taught.
Home schooling has gone through the roof since the lockdown. And its the brightest kids who are being taught at home since mom isn’t working. The slackers are still in the public school system.
It seems more families are choosing the traditional family life. A good thing.
Wages are important but you can also lure high quality workers with excellent working conditions.
That means allowing them to work at home (no long commute) where feasible.
That means a great boss who treats them with respect and makes a commitment to fully training them and helping them improve.
That means making the workplace a “no b&^%s&^% zone”—in a thousand different ways—the focus is on getting the job done correctly and not the many possible distractions.
“I can tell you that my husband’s business is paying $17 an hour plus benefits, for entry-level jobs that are typically filled by teenagers.”
post an ad on FR.
You’ll get all the folks you could ever need.
That is if you’re not in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do for young folks, and an apartment costs $1,500 a month.
If that’s the case, you’re just like all the rest of the low-wage slave holders.
-Scaling back on the second job.
Many people gave up the part-time job, especially if it was largely based on tips. For many staff at restaurants and bars, it's their second job. As the part-timers scale back, many of whom brought real skills to the workplace, the regulars face an increased workload. I speak from experience and have worked where weekend and holiday part-timers were far more capable than the regulars who were often just keeping things afloat between surges.
-Retirements of those who could have retired years ago.
If the job becomes a burden, has obscene mandates, or the coworkers are exposed as Branch Covidians, it's time to go. This is likely accelerated when the company is short-staffed. These could-have-retired-already staff don't want more headaches. When the older, more experienced staff leave, the younger ones have to face obstacles that they're not prepared for and are more likely to quit. One large complaint many have is lack of training and available expertise to help them.
-Those reassessing what they're killing themselves for
Workers, and owners who would have previously busted their butts while underpaid are now asking themselves, "why bust my butt if the Democrat arm of the globalist totalitarians are going to take it away as they wish?" How many hard working individuals watched the Democrat riots of 2020 and had to accept the reality that they're working to keep the WHITE mutants funded in those cities?
-Those reassessing who they're working with and for
Many employers have shown they're not focused on profit nor betterment of the operation. How many employees at companies such as Target and Woke-a-Cola have management tell them there's no money for increases while the company spends millions on Democrat woke causes and then lose millions when they chase customers away? Employees are not going to put in the extra time and effort for a company that actively works to destroy what the employees value.
-The job sites aren't safe
How many people will no longer work in an area such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, Wilwaukie, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charlottesville, Louisville, St. Louis, etc.? The Democrats made it very clear in 2020 that they'll sacrifice the safety and life of everyone there to the rioters in order to further their agenda. They also refuse to incarcerate not just the rioters but also the regular street thugs. The Democrats outright attacked law enforcement by charging them with felonies while doing their job. Those law enforcement who didn't retire or quit are certainly going to follow the Ferguson Effect and not risk anything.
--How many companies refuse to relocate because they want the tax subsidies they get for operating in a Democrat run dump?
--Employees rightly question the decision to show up to a place that's so dangerous that they need to wear masks, submit to health screenings, and get the Jim Jones Jab. If it's that dangerous, they won't be there.
They also show up drug free.
Maybe I am not being clear $17 an hour for 16 year olds.
It goes up from there. Some of his managers make six figures.
I’m not going to tell you where we are in GA, but I will tell you that what he pays provides a nice living here, at least for now.
I have been in contact with people on FR in the past looking for work, they don’t want to do this kind of work. But it’s not beneath my husband.
I hope all of you who hate the decent business owners will be happy when they all go under and you are all working for the government.
Positive unintended consequences... Thanks for your insightful comments - you’re right on this... you’ve found a part of the puzzle.
Businesses are choosing their customers because they have limited staff and lots of request for service...and an inability to hire more workers...
(That's a power switch and acceptance is based not just on 'how green is your money' but on personal preferences like 'how much do I like working for you'...
Luckily I know the code so I'm not having problems but there are people (liberals) who will be seeing 'service' shortages in the future.
That’s another way to filter for their most valuable customers, but yeah, I could see that.
Good post.
Smart customers have learned to be very friendly and positive with small businesses that are important to them.
In tough times (like these) it pays off big time.
See my reply #55... We're on the same page. The incentive has switched. You or the owner of your company will start dropping customers they'd rather not work with... if the business owner doesn't respect the new incentives a worker will just move on. Companies are getting selective on a new level. Everyone's money is green so that's not a primary incentive in these unusual times. Charging more would be the old capitalist solution but if you can't keep employees... well, then 'employees' become wealth. It's gonna be interesting..
Yup! I posted the same earlier.
Bad or rude treatment of the existing staff will get you fired as a client in a heartbeat.
Maybe it’s about wages?
Yeah here in Los Angeles business have to a $15.00 minimum wage dish washer and alike at small businesses have caused the shut down of many businesses.
Never over estimate your worth
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