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 drove past a nearby fast food place the other day and the sign said they are hiring and paying up to $8.00 an hour. Jobs at the local grocery store or the dollar store pay about the same. Mostly part time and no benefits.
I need to hire some help with work around my property, some digging, help to fabricate some raised beds made from cattle panels, moving old firewood etc. Seems like something that could be handled by a high school senior or junior. Completely flexible hours, after school, weekends etc as it fits the person's needs, unlike working at the fast food joint.
So while at the farm supply store I told them what I'm looking for and asked what sort of hourly rate for such work. It would be ongoing, part time through the summer and into fall. They answered - good luck finding anyone but figure on $10.00 to 12.00 an hour (cash, off the books) if there is even anyone willing to do this sort of work.
I know several other friends who, like me, are getting up in years and don't have the endurance for some of these manual labor tasks and are willing to pay up to $15.00 an hour for help but simply can't find anyone who wants to work.
Anyone with even modest skills who wanted to open a "honey-do" type handyman service in this area would have full time work.
Are people in other rural areas finding the same problem?
You betcha! We are in Middle Tennessee and kids don't want to work "in the hay fields" here, either.
A few years back, a kid told my husband he would rather work for less money at the McDonald's drive-thru because he "could meet girls there".
In 14+ years, we have only found one young man who shows up on time, works smart, and does more than we asked. No surprise that he works full time, including some Saturday's doing oil changes at a car dealership.
He knows farm life and had good work ethics instilled in him --- I was afraid I'd have have to pay for hernia surgery the day he picked up our deceased 40 gallon hot water heater by himself and carried it into the garage, lol
Needless-to-say, DH pays him well to help us with things we can't do anymore, when the young man has free time away from his own place or his parents place
Be sure you know the labor laws, if they apply to your
situation, don't want to be sued do we.
Last Summer I gave out some yard work to a local guy, he showed up with his buddy to do the task, fortunately his bud didn't get hurt, I doubt the guy I hired had WCI,
This Spring I'm hiring a landscaping company that's fully
Insured.
In my rural area, $15 an hour cash is about the bare minimum you can pay someone to come out to your place and do general labor work.
Try putting an ad in the local paper, a local community bulletin board, craigslist, etc. You should get some takers.
For someone to net 15 bucks an hour from a full time on the books job they would be grossing about $42,000 a year. That's about what a new graduate of Virginia Tech Veterinary school makes locally. So I think that 15 is rather high for someone who only needs to know which end of the shovel goes in the ground.
Your local prevailing wages may vary depending on your location. I was just throwing out a widely used base number in my area for these types of jobs.
Money is the great motivator. I think it's going to be hard to find reliable and hardworking people who are going to be excited about shoveling and doing manual labor all day for less than $10 an hour.
I like people to be excited to come out again the next time I need help, so I always pay really well. I also like to think it motivates them to work harder and do a better job. I also feel less bad having them complete hard and unpleasant tasks for me when I'm compensating them well.
For someone to net 15 bucks an hour from a full time on the books job they would be grossing about $42,000 a year. That's about what a new graduate of Virginia Tech Veterinary school makes locally. So I think that 15 is rather high for someone who only needs to know which end of the shovel goes in the ground.
Such is the labor market for casual laborers in many rural markets.
ManPower (Labor Ready) charges me $18/hour with a 4-hour minimum + transportation costs (we're 30 miles out of town).
Local youngsters (farm kids) ask $20/hour for the type of work you're seeking. And that's if I provide all the tools//equipment, otherwise it's a lot more especially if they need to bring their own skidsteer or tractor.
While I prefer to do all my own farm/ranch chores, have no reached an age where doing the barn stall cleaning, fencing, and minor construction projects are beyond the scope of what I can readily do. Thankfully, we have the resources to hire such work or contractors for stuff that I'd have done myself.years ago.
I just installed a replacement boiler for my HWBB heat. Couldn't justify the $2,500 that the local P&H contractors wanted to do the job if they supplied a $5,000 boiler which was comparable to the one I bought at Home Depot for $2,300 with all my discounts. But I did have to pay a couple of the local boys to remove the old boiler from the basement and carry the new one down the steps ... using my industrial stair-climber hand truck. Took them 20 minutes. $50 well spent, thankful to have the heavy lifting done for me so I could complete the installation.
This is the type of work undocumented workers are happy to do, and they will work hard for you. Forget about trying to find high school workers, in my experience.
If it was me, I'd contact my local Catholic Church and ask them if they can refer anyone who needs to work for some extra money. They will know immigrants who will be happy to work hard for you.
This is the type of work recent legal immigrant workers are happy to do, and they will work hard for you. Forget about trying to find high school workers, in my experience.
If it was me, I'd contact my local Catholic Church and ask them if they can refer anyone who needs to work for some extra money. They will know immigrants who will be happy to work hard for you.
Although what you said has some truth to it, I fixed it for you so you weren't advocating hiring illegals .
The problem with finding a harworking, reliable day laborer is all the good ones often quickly get snatched up quickly by someone offering full time higher pay work.
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.
