Current Events > So why is there a labor shortage?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Googling this only gives me only extreme political op-eds

"No one wants shitty jobs anymore they've woken up" - but where are they getting their money??

"All the workers are enjoying unemployment" - even in the states that ended the boost there is a worker shortage, does that mean this is a cultural shift and those people are all looking for $20+ jobs, and content with 2/3rds UI pay?

"It's not just the shitty jobs, it's all businesses" - whered all the workers go?

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A lot of 'low skilled' jobs like in person customer service, stores, bars, etc are incredibly fucking shitty with scheduling and hours
People are starting to realize that no, having to be 'available' in case management decides to give you 3 days instead of 6 days or the next paycheck is 100 dollars less because you got two less shifts isn't ok
it's risky and unfair

The job market is in a state where employees can be more choosy than employers. That's why restaurant jobs are remaining vacant.
Nobody's going to work a fryer when there's several dozen other jobs needing workers too.

its that no one wants to work shitty service or retail jobs where the karens of the world will cough on them and shit.

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I heard that it's mostly people who worked 2 or 3 jobs in the past, dropping a job

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Stuck in a shitty interview limbo process.

There isnt

There is a living wage shortage

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Mezcla posted...

its that no one wants to work shitty service or retail jobs where the karens of the world will cough on them and shit.

Ok did you read my post though?

Where are they getting money? Why now? Did higher level jobs open up after quarantine?

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M_Live posted...

I dunno, because I keep hearing about it but I only know one person that's currently unemployed. I keep seeing the signs at retail stores, fast food places etc. that they're hiring. I really think a lot of it must be people just not wanting to work shitty jobs that aren't worth the pay

Perhaps is college students and out of hs students are't working the jobs designed to not pay anyone because they aren't big boy jobs.

Njolk posted...

Ok did you read my post though?

Where are they getting money? Why now? Did higher level jobs open up after quarantine?

Need less money when you just sit at home avoiding the world.

EndOfDiscOne posted...

I heard that it's mostly people who worked 2 or 3 jobs in the past, dropping a job

Ah that wound make a lot of sense

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Njolk posted...

Ok did you read my post though?

Where are they getting money? Why now? Did higher level jobs open up after quarantine?

No. Its simple really.

Here are the two options many are being faced with right now.

1. Not work and be poor
2. Work a shitty 9 to 5 making pocket change dealing with assholes all day and still be poor

Do you understand? Time is money. If theyre going to be broke either way why bother with these jobs that make dirt and nobody appreciates?

I stand by them. Until they make enough to get by and people stop treating them like trash yall can make your own burgers during your lunch break.

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People realized they dont have to work their dicks into the dirt for people who are using them to get wealthy.

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SSJPurple posted...

No. Its simple really.

Here are the two options many are being faced with right now.

1. Not work and be poor
2. Work a shitty 9 to 5 making pocket change dealing with assholes all day and still be poor
Do you understand? Time is money. If theyre going to be broke either way why bother with these jobs that make dirt and nobody appreciates?

I stand by them. Until they make enough to get by and people stop treating them like trash yall can make your own burgers during your lunch break.

I also stand by them and am not trying to make a statement, I just don't understand how poor people can afford to not work, that's the whole reason they had shit jobs to begin with

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A lot of working age people died in the pandemic. Line cook was the job that saw the largest increase in mortality as a result of covid.

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We had a labor shortage before the pandemic and that's just continuing now that people are hiring again and the unemployment rate is falling. Our economic system creates a ton of opportunity and people can use that opportunity to bargain for their labor, it's why our wages are so high compared to most of the world.

Also it's hilarious that the US has a labor shortage and a migrant crisis at the border but can't think of a way to solve these two issues.

Njolk posted...

I just don't understand how poor people can afford to not work

Plain old under-the-table day labor, or various, um, illegal industries.

SSJPurple posted...

There isnt

There is a living wage shortage

This.

1/3 of the USA still works for the minimum wage of 7.25 and that's fucking bullshit.

I learned that my state is one of the worst in the country to work in because a lot of the laws are anti-worker including anti Labor Union laws.
NC btw.

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deoxxys posted...

1/3 of the USA still works for the minimum wage of 7.25 and that's fucking bullshit.

That is in fact bullshit!

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2019/home.htm

Only 1.9% of workers makes the federal minimum wage and that includes workers who make tips so the number in reality is closer to 0%.

Njolk posted...

Ok did you read my post though?

No i dont give a shit about your post

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Broseph_Stalin posted...

That is in fact bullshit!

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2019/home.htm

Only 1.9% of workers makes the federal minimum wage and that includes workers who make tips so the number in reality is closer to 0%.

But yet 20/50 of the States still have a $7.25 minimum wage and theres no reason for that.


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deoxxys posted...

But yet 20/50 of the States still have a $7.25 minimum wage and theres no reason for that.

...because there's no actual need for a state to set a minimum wage. It defaults to federal when absent.

Questionmarktarius posted...

...because there's no actual need for a state to set a minimum wage. It defaults to federal when absent.

Well then the Federal wage should be lifted, especially when 40% of the country is going to be defaulting to that.

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deoxxys posted...

But yet 20/50 of the States still have a $7.25 minimum wage and theres no reason for that.

Right and no one is actually earning that which makes the point meaningless.

Incomes in the US are not controlled by the state. We're not Cuba. In a market economy employers have to compete for workers. The minimum wage could be $7.25 for another 10 years, it doesn't mean employers would be able to find workers while paying that low.

deoxxys posted...

when 40% of the country is going to be defaulting to that.

You went from 33% to 40% when the real number is less than 2%.

WingsOfGood posted...

Need less money when you just sit at home avoiding the world.

This is a big factor that no one else seems to be talking about. For the last year & a half, people haven't been doing a lot of things that cost money (or they've done them a lot less) like going out to eat, going to movies, sports, concerts, etc.

If all you do is sit at home & watch Netflix, you need less money. I'd guess a lot of younger people have moved back in with their parents too. Or, in the case of some of my friends, one spouse got a raise so the other decided to be a stay at home parent & quit their job.

deoxxys posted...

Well then the Federal wage should be lifted, especially when 40% of the country is going to be defaulting to that.

Am I gonna have to do that terrible "tomato" analogy again?

EndOfDiscOne posted...

I heard that it's mostly people who worked 2 or 3 jobs in the past, dropping a job

This is my theory but I havent seen anything to confirm

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SSJPurple posted...

There isnt

There is a living wage shortage

this

republicans are blind

shockthemonkey posted...

But everyone still seems to be ignoring the fact that a fuckton of people are dead.

Oh fuck, Thanos was right all along.

shockthemonkey posted...

Because a fuckton of people died or sustained long term issues that make working incredibly difficult

This might be one of the better explanations. Over half a million people died. We're trending in the right direction though as far as jobs go.

Interesting graph I was looking at:
Unemployment rate before covid for bachelors degree: 1.9
Unemployment rate now for bachelors degree: 2.8
Unemployment rate peak for bachelors degree: 8

Unemployment rate before covid for HS degree: 3.5
Unemployment rate now for HS degree: 6.0
Unemployment rate peak for HS degree: 17.3

If you have a bachelors degree, you're much better of than without.
But "college is useless" and a waste of money per CE.
The numbers for associates degree sit somewhere in between bachelors and HS.

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No one wants to work for peanuts, get shit on by everyone for it, receive no benefits, and struggle to just be alive any more. You can struggle to just be alive while jobless and have less stress.

deoxxys posted...

anti Labor Union laws

It's appalling that these are even a thing in this country.

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metallica846 posted...

How would not having money come in be less stressful?

These are basement dwellers we're talking about.

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R_Jackal posted...

No one wants to work for peanuts, get shit on by everyone for it, receive no benefits, and struggle to just be alive any more. You can struggle to just be alive while jobless and have less stress.

I don't know why this is being repeated over and over

People have been shit on in these horrible jobs for 50+ years and three months off made them realize they'd rather be unemployed?

I don't get this logic, it just seems like what we WISH was happening

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It's a lie pushed by morally bankrupt corporations that don't want to treat employees like human beings.

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Hot take: university students have been taking classes from home for almost a year now. With campuses opening up, let's see if the labor shortage persists until winter, because I wouldn't be shocked if the issue isn't people not wanting jobs or not needing money, but the ~20 million working age students that for the last year have been clustered in suburbs and not around campuses that often have a large number of businesses in their orbit.

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Njolk posted...

I don't know why this is being repeated over and over

People have been shit on in these horrible jobs for 50+ years and three months off made them realize they'd rather be unemployed?

I don't get this logic, it just seems like what we WISH was happening

The pandemic was the straw that broke the camel's back. It's all that, plus the risk of being infected by a virus because many people in this country are not doing what they need to protect themselves and those around them.

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Not surprising Indiana would be tied or lowest minimum wage in the US.

TC is making the assumption that people who desperately need the work are the ones responsible for the job shortage but those people are likely still working. I don't claim to be an expert on this but it's probably people who can afford to be unemployed who left. That's not to say they don't need money, they just don't risk starving if they don't work for a while. And as others said, time off is time to reconsider your situation. Some of these people will come back but for the rest, they likely have seen a new opportunity. Work keeps you busy, they might not have had as much time and energy to think about it.

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Antifar posted...

A lot of working age people died in the pandemic. Line cook was the job that saw the largest increase in mortality as a result of covid.

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Njolk posted...

I don't know why this is being repeated over and over

People have been shit on in these horrible jobs for 50+ years and three months off made them realize they'd rather be unemployed?

I don't get this logic, it just seems like what we WISH was happening

Abusive relationship logic. Keep going back to a situation you hate because there's nothing better is the idea our job market has worked on for decades. Suddenly you get time away from them and realize life isn't so shit as they wanted you to believe.