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If the employer in question were offering $60/hour, eminently qualified machinists would be coming out of retirement to apply for these positions, as would mechanical engineers seeking to retrain.
right, like i thought, the employees want to be paid more than they are worth
But it's the beloved free market dictating wages. If a job can't find someone to work for the wages offered they have keep increasing them until they do get somebody. Of course now with the indentured worker program (H1B) that's not as important.
The place my son works is always short handed. The pay is good, there is a full benefit and retirement package. They don't even get as far as the drug testing. As soon as the oh-so-desperate-job-seeker discovers that first hires work the night shift and weekends until they can work themselves up the seniority chain, they won't even apply.
My son made $125,000 last year and the people whining about how they can't find a job simply tell me that their free time is much too valuable for them to work weekends.
I'm seeing signs on the burger flipper jobs saying they are hiring and paying $12 an hour. That's good money for not doing much of anything in a job where you take responsibility for nothing.
It might be the wages in some cases, but that doesn't seem to be the problem overall, especially if plenty of people are applying at that salary level but can't pass the drug test.
The place my son works is always short handed. The pay is good, there is a full benefit and retirement package. They don't even get as far as the drug testing. As soon as the oh-so-desperate-job-seeker discovers that first hires work the night shift and weekends until they can work themselves up the seniority chain, they won't even apply.
My son made $125,000 last year and the people whining about how they can't find a job simply tell me that their free time is much too valuable for them to work weekends.
I'm seeing signs on the burger flipper jobs saying they are hiring and paying $12 an hour. That's good money for not doing much of anything in a job where you take responsibility for nothing.
It might be the wages in some cases, but that doesn't seem to be the problem overall, especially if plenty of people are applying at that salary level but can't pass the drug test.
Back in my hometown in rural PA I know people who live full time off the dole or disability because it pays more than whatever low wage job that is available.
When the national unemployment rate dips below 5% (currently 4.4) the hiring pool for qualified applicants (even un-skilled) is no more than a very shallow puddle.
An employer can pay more and maybe hire away employees from a another industry or competitor, but that just transfers the hiring cost and burden to another employer and does not solve the problem.
Simply raising the earning level does not produce new and qualified candidates, the available pool is a quantified amount.
Also, the average unemployment rate is simply that, averaged. If someone has a skill, training, or qualifying education, the rate is much lower, even dips into negative numbers.
Back in my hometown in rural PA I know people who live full time off the dole or disability because it pays more than whatever low wage job that is available.
That's true here, too. On local discussion boards, I've seen new arrivals asking for info on applying for the dole and food stamps. What a moving plan!
The only thing a "skills gap" means is that there are people unwilling to take those jobs at their present wage/working conditions.
Remember years back when the US was complaining about a shortage of pharmacists? That's an incredibly difficult degree...and in some states, like Texas, you now have to get a doctorate (Pharm.D.) in order to be a pharmacist. Students across the US rose to the challenge and we how have a glut of pharmacists.
The media still claims there's a nursing shortage but I hear differently from "baby nurses" on the ground looking for work after getting their ASN/BSN. Lots of crappy temp work and the worst shifts always. Regardless, there are still waiting lists in nursing programs across the country. That's not a bird course either...it's heavy on science and crosses multiple disciplines.
Long story short...if the wages are right, you'll get qualified applicants. If the field requires further education, people will go get it to get a good job.
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