Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
First of all let me say I am not starting this thread to give false hope. Don't pack your bags and head to Myrtle Beach! ... unless of course you are coming for a wonderful vacation. I am just interested in what the locals take on the subject may be. I see a lot of posts about the lack of jobs in Horry County, yet in the past few weeks I have seen a few things that would make me wonder. Are there really NO jobs or are there just no jobs that anyone would want?
My son is a cook. He was not happy with the job he got 6 months ago so he went out in search of a new one. After filling out only two applications he got his second job since moving to the area 6 months ago. I though maybe he was just lucky or maybe it was his charming personality .
Then I was speaking to my sons girlfriend, a life long resident of the Carolinas. We were discussing the unemployment rate. She couldn't understand why it was so high and mentioned that where she works always has jobs posted. I didn't ask, but she is a teenager so I would suspect it is a minimum wage job, but again they have available jobs.
Just this past week a water park up the street had a job fair. They expected 300 people applying to fill the 150 jobs available. It turned out they only had 80 applicants. I went to their website and saw that their pay is poor, but it is a job non-the-less.
That brings me back to my original question. Is there really no jobs? Or do people just not want the ones that are out there?
Many times, people have champagne/caviar tastes on a Old Milwaukee/Saltines budget. The same would apply with the workforce. People, by in large, have become much more 'expectant' from an employer, IMO. They often expect an unrealistic pay rate and are less than willing to take anything beneath their 'expected' pay grade.
Some people won't work no matter what. That's a reason that the unemployment level will likely NEVER get below 4-5% in the very best of times.
I, myself, have seen many Help Wanted signs up recently. I was just at Jimmy Johns for lunch the other day and they are hiring. In fact, we will be hiring 3-4 new staff in the next week or two. These are seasonal positions but, as you stated, they are paying positions none the less...
Off subject but another question ... Am I the only one that has type-o's just pop up out of thin air when they hit "submit reply"? ... I drive myself nuts
Quote:
Many times, people have champagne/caviar tastes on a Old Milwaukee/Saltines budget.
lol ...I would fall into the category of Old Milwaukee / Saltines budget these days. I do, however, feel fortunate that I do not have to find a job in the area (my husband is retired and I brought my business with me, although I often refer to it these days as my "not for profit" business).
I do agree with what you said but if you have a family can you live on minimum wage? I am not sure. Maybe you can. The housing is certainly less in this area than others. I know in the North East only teenagers still living at home could consider that a "livable" wage. Are they making more on unemployment? I am not sure if I was receiving unemployment that paid more than that and had mouths to feed that I would choose that job either. That being said, there is no question in my mind that there ARE jobs out there.
I have spent much time in the past two days looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics data and was surprised at what I saw. Myrtle Beach -North Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC Metropolitan Statistical data shows that this area actually has over 10 % more people employed than they did a decade ago. Compared to nationally, which is just over 1 %, this number is huge. South Carolina as a whole actually employs less people than they did ten years ago.
This would make for some great numbers for the area but unfortunately the labor force statistics are just as strange. The labor force in the US has increased less than 8% in the past 10 years. SC is a little higher at just under 10%. The labor force in this area has increased over 25% in the past decade. That is off the charts!
As fascinating as I found these numbers I am still left wondering about the unemployment rate in the area. Due to the seasonal nature of the area there is certainly an increase in jobs in the past month. Are there enough to compensate for the over 25% increase in labor force? That remains to be seen. Is the problem more to do with the wages paid? And with numbers like that, not to mention the economy, will employers have the ability or the incentive to pay a more "livable" wage?
Due to the seasonal nature of the area there is certainly an increase in jobs in the past month. Are there enough to compensate for the over 25% increase in labor force?
Interesting questions, and not many answers. Of the seasonal jobs, I suspect that a great many of them will go back to the same "seasonal regulars", who have worked the same jobs in past years. Many of these employees come in from outside counties with even higher unemployment rates.
For whatever reasons, I question whether the minimum wage jobs hold much attraction to a large segment of the skilled workers - contractors, electricians, etc - impacted by the current economy. I know several who are trying to struggle by, picking up "handyman" jobs or small remodeling jobs. Even a few of these projects will usually result in more income than bussing tables.
I struggle with the 25% increase in labor force. There certainly is not a corresponding increase in legitimate, living wage career jobs in this area, even with the population explosion. I suspect the devil is in the details, so to speak. My retired neighbor drives the beer wagon one day/week at a nearby golf course, in order to get reduced greens fees. Does that place him in the labor force? Many of the baggers at our local grocery are retirees, working 1 or 2 days a week. That equates to maybe one "real" job, but 3 or 4 in the labor force? A sweet old lady at our church works a few hours at the dress shop for her bingo money. By doing so, has she increased the labor force?
Quote:
South Carolina as a whole actually employs less people than they did ten years ago...
IMO, that's a much more troubling number. In some ways, I think MB can be looked at as somewhat of an anomaly. The entire state, on the other hand, needs to be growing jobs at a rate at least equivalent to the population increase.
Some people are fortunate enough to move to MB from an area with a higher economy. When they sell their home they often get enough to buy a home in MB outright, with no mortgage. I am not fortunate enough (or maybe I am fortunate, depending on how you look at it) to live in such an area. A comparable home to the one I have now (3BR, 1BA, kitchen, living room, dining room and study/office with attached one-car garage) would cost me more in MB, and I would lose the storage of my full concrete floor/block wall basement so I would have to find somewhere for all the "stuff" that is down there, not to mention my husband's woodworking tools and other stuff he's accumulated over the years.
Also, while some families could possibly exist on minimum wage earned by both parents, I don't see how my family possibly could. It's not just the mortgage, but the other extras that go along with living your life, such as utilities (electric, phone, TV, Internet, cell phone, etc.), car payment(s), life insurance, homeowner's insurance, auto insurance, health insurance (or whatever contribution your employer requires toward it if you're lucky enough to have an employer plan), taxes, groceries, gasoline, clothing, household supplies. And then there are the incidentals that crop up: student lunch money, student pictures, medical co-pays, magazine subscriptions, newspaper delivery, repairs and maintenance on home and automobiles, and on and on.
Sometimes it's not an issue of having champagne/caviar taste, but an issue of just all the incidentals that pile up to a champagne/caviar budgetary need. I have Diet Pepsi (don't drink)/Saltines taste but there are times when I NEED the champagne/caviar budget just to get by. Sigh!
So yes, I think there are probably lots of jobs in MB, but not many that would allow for a family of five to have a livable wage without really cutting back on things that have become necessities. I have a job that could transfer with me, but my husband now makes $21 an hour. Where in MB could he possibly find something like that? We had planned to move down there about five years ago but could never swing it. Now it looks like it may have to wait until retirement.
Also, while some families could possibly exist on minimum wage earned by both parents, I don't see how my family possibly could. It's not just the mortgage, but the other extras that go along with living your life, such as utilities (electric, phone, TV, Internet, cell phone, etc.), car payment(s), life insurance, homeowner's insurance, auto insurance, health insurance (or whatever contribution your employer requires toward it if you're lucky enough to have an employer plan), taxes, groceries, gasoline, clothing, household supplies. And then there are the incidentals that crop up: student lunch money, student pictures, medical co-pays, magazine subscriptions, newspaper delivery, repairs and maintenance on home and automobiles, and on and on.
I tried to imagine that myself Dawne. Could I do it? Right now our income isn't that much more than it would be if we were both out working a minimum wage job but we also don't spend all the money we would have to if we were. We don't pay for day care. Repairs and gasoline are kept to a minimum because we don't have to travel everyday. We only have one vehicle and that may be a problem if we were both going off to work everyday. We consider ourselves to be a very frugal people living on a shoestring budget. We have a 99 minivan that we paid cash for. We don't have revolving credit of any kind (which we found out is a HUGE problem when you try to go get a mortgage ). If we can't buy something with cash we do without. We very seldom eat out or even buy take out. We cut at every corner but even with all of that I don't know if we could do it on minimum wage.
Quote:
I suspect the devil is in the details, so to speak. My retired neighbor drives the beer wagon one day/week at a nearby golf course, in order to get reduced greens fees. Does that place him in the labor force? Many of the baggers at our local grocery are retirees, working 1 or 2 days a week. That equates to maybe one "real" job, but 3 or 4 in the labor force? A sweet old lady at our church works a few hours at the dress shop for her bingo money. By doing so, has she increased the labor force?
Your right PD. That never even crossed my mind but yes that would increase the labor force. So if this area has more retired people who are in the workforce it could definitely skew those numbers.
As for the state numbers and the fact that they employ less people now than 10 years ago, I find it very alarming. The 32 states that have seen growth over the past decade share a pattern of slow but steady growth (with the exception of the past two years). South Carolina along with most, but not all, of the other states that did not see growth only saw a spike between 2006 & 2008. Of course we know now that this was just a mirage and reality set in and those jobs were gone as quick as they came.
You can give me hope, or false hope.I plan on making the move this summer.I won't need anything right away but hopefully I can find something. I'm willing to try any type job,I already have benefits so I don't have to worry about that. I'd be happy with 10.00 an hour. I hope you don't tell me I'm crazy.
Wish me luck.
You can give me hope, or false hope.I plan on making the move this summer.I won't need anything right away but hopefully I can find something. I'm willing to try any type job,I already have benefits so I don't have to worry about that. I'd be happy with 10.00 an hour. I hope you don't tell me I'm crazy.
Wish me luck.
nj relocating,
I won't call you crazy, just maybe a little overly ambitious. Unfortunately there are not many jobs that will pay you $10 per hour, which is actually why I started this thread in the first place. I didn't realize it before I delved into it, but the problem is much bigger than I had originally thought. As I said in my original post, I am not trying to give false hope and I can now see, call me a slow learner, why there are so many post discouraging people from moving to this area. The numbers speak for themselves. Do I wish you well? Absolutely! But know what you are getting into, and don't expect too much.
nj relocating,
Just to give you a little better idea of what you will be up against I went back to the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning to research Median Hourly Wages. The latest information I could gather was from May 2008 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. There are only 9 states with lower median hourly wages than South Carolina, which as of May 2008 was estimated at $13.85. These states are Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, and West Virginia.
Despite the fact that the Myrtle Beach / Conway Area employs 10% more people than a decade ago their Median Hourly Wage estimates as of May 2008 were $11.48. That is 2.37 per hour less than the already discouraging low wages of SC as a whole.
I am not trying to be depressing but unless you have a special skill that is needed in the area your search for a $10 per hour job may be much like finding a needle in a haystack.
My 19 year-old son who is a freshman at Coastal Carolina has found work at a local restaurant. The restaurant does not pay him. However, the servers, who are understaffed by the restaurant, pay my son out of their tips for bussing their tables, filling their salad bar, restocking their dinnerware, etc. He works Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings about 5 hours per night. For this work he is paid an average of $8 an hour.
He knows what's happening is against the law at least on the part on the restaurant owner, and perhaps on his part as well. His rational is that he's just "volunteering" as far as the owner is concerned.
This is not some two-bit greasy spoon, but rather a well respected restaurant in Murrells Inlet. I just wonder how many other "volunteers" are out there, and how many "respectable" restaurants are using them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am just interested in what the locals take on the subject may be. I see a lot of posts about the lack of jobs in Horry County, yet in the past few weeks I have seen a few things that would make me wonder. Are there really NO jobs or are there just no jobs that anyone would want?
. 
... I drive myself nuts 
Unfortunately there are not many jobs that will pay you $10 per hour, which is actually why I started this thread in the first place. I didn't realize it before I delved into it, but the problem is much bigger than I had originally thought. As I said in my original post, I am not trying to give false hope and I can now see, call me a slow learner, why there are so many post discouraging people from moving to this area. The numbers speak for themselves. Do I wish you well? Absolutely! But know what you are getting into, and don't expect too much.
