Where Did All The Workers Go?

[tinnitus]

Ms. Tinnitus recently retired from a career in banking where she was on a small panel responsible, among other things, for interviewing and selecting new employees - mostly teller/new accounts positions. During her final year (all during the plague), she was "ghosted" by more than a few seemingly acceptable candidates when she reached out to offer them teller positions and ask when they could start. No answers, no calls back, no responses to emails or texts - nothing.

As minimum wage keeps getting driven up and up, it seems you can hire on at the local car wash and make about as much as a new teller in a bank. In fact, an established bank employee in line for an Assistant Manager position just quit in March, stating that she preferred to choose her own hours and could make just as much driving for Uber Eats. Not sure if that's exactly true or not, especially as the cost of gas (and everything else) is skyrocketing, but that's why (at least some) banks in this area are sorely understaffed.

YMMV

[Aspiring]

There are a lot of other factors as well. I work in technology. I am a hiring manager and have been for years.

The ability to hire candidates in tech is atrocious right now although there are some signs this will change in the next six months.

Simply put the supply of jobs way exceeds the number of quality candidates. On top of that most positions in tech are now showing up in places that can't fill enough which means the demands when you are in the job are quite stressful trying to get the job done without enough qualified people on the team.

I have also had the experience of being passionate about a job and learning from experience there is more to life.

Interesting times for sure.

[rokdog49]

Interesting replies so far.
In response to imwjl, I don’t think this is regional. I have discussed this with my siblings who are spread all over this country (5 of them) and they all say the same thing.
Certainly there are exceptions, but when the trades can’t fill openings with bonuses, free training and schools and starting pay exceeding $25/ hour, something is wrong. I’m just trying to get a handle on exactly what it is.

My grandson delivers ice in the summer when he’s off from college and drives a truck he needs a CDL for.
He gets an hourly wage and makes commissions on volume.
He has made up to $250-300 per day, working as little as 6 hours, but he busts his rear end. They actually pay him for the gas it takes him to drive to their distribution location from where he lives.
This company can’t find and keep people. Those are facts.

[Mr. Jelly]

A fact I like to involve whenever I think about people and jobs is that 50% of all people are of below average intelligence. They need jobs also. Obviously we interact with them often.

[dnf777]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

A fact I like to involve whenever I think about people and jobs is that 50% of all people are of below average intelligence. They need jobs also. Obviously we interact with them often.

Fact is, many jobs that require "below average intelligence" are the same ones being replaced with automation.

I don't mean to sound snobby, (because tech-replacement is creeping upwards every day) but this is a real issue for the future workforce. Bank tellers, toll-booth workers, store stockers, cashiers, warehouse workers, longshormen, and soon commercial drivers and refinery workers......all being replaced or greatly reduced in number to "monitor roles". Folks, these were all once jobs that would support a family, or at least one's self. Not anymore.

A robot or self-driving truck doesn't call in sick. no lunch break. no restricted hours. we will soon be in the way of computers, and something they must divert resources to, to care for. Yikes!

Before bashing the younger generation, please realize that they are not entering the same world we did. And we will be dependent on them to fix the mess we've left them!

[Draft Guitar]

Originally Posted by dnf777

A robot or self-driving truck doesn't call in sick. no lunch break. no restricted hours. we will soon be in the way of computers, and something they must divert resources to, to care for. Yikes!

And robots don't pay taxes. The tax burden is being shifted to those that will remain in the workforce. Ayn Rand wrote about this many years ago.

[dnf777]

Originally Posted by Draft Guitar

And robots don't pay taxes. The tax burden is being shifted to those that will remain in the workforce. Ayn Rand wrote about this many years ago.

Absolutely. This has been predicted by many, but now its happening.

[MrDB]

It's a multifaceted issue and many of the points have already been made here. Many retirees that were working part time were out of work when the pandemic hit and have not returned. Lots of High School and college kids are still on the sidelines. Government programs that put $$ in peoples pockets plus made it easy to access those benefits play a role also.

Some employers, especially in retail and food service make it difficult to be an employee. Inconsistent scheduling that makes planning anything in advance hard. Low pay of course as well.

I think the labor market will sort itself out at some point, although I admit I don't know how long it will take.

[AfterViewer]

Robots are getting too botty for their own good. I expect they will takeover sports.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by MrDB

It's a multifaceted issue and many of the points have already been made here. Many retirees that were working part time were out of work when the pandemic hit and have not returned. Lots of High School and college kids are still on the sidelines. Government programs that put $$ in peoples pockets plus made it easy to access those benefits play a role also.

Some employers, especially in retail and food service make it difficult to be an employee. Inconsistent scheduling that makes planning anything in advance hard. Low pay of course as well.

I think the labor market will sort itself out at some point, although I admit I don't know how long it will take.

That is true in my case. In retirement, I worked a few months every year doing contract engineering work. When we all went into hiding for the pandemic, I stopped and haven't been back since.

Tony

[Draft Guitar]

What happens when productive people who are not near retirement age decide that they want out of the "game"? I'm strongly considering it and I'm 20 years from traditional retirement age.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by perttime

One result of COVID in my corner of the world is that many workers in the restaurant and catering businesses have "disappeared". They couldn't work while restaurants were closed, so they went and looked for something else to do. And found something that they are happy to do.

This ^ is part of the story.

Another part of the story, in some locations: a significant number of people who have usually done lower paying service work (in restaurants, hotels, cleaning services, etc.) have been immigrants, and changes in immigration policy PLUS the challenges of getting into this country during the pandemic have much reduced the number or immigrant workers. This is true on Cape Cod, MA, where many of the service workers came to work during the peak tourist months of Summer. Many came from Eastern Europe, some from Africa, etc. In California, immigrants were primarily from Mexico.

Other posts make some excellent points about this phenomenon.

It is a complex situation with many factors in play.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Draft Guitar

What happens when productive people who are not near retirement age decide that they want out of the "game"? I'm strongly considering it and I'm 20 years from traditional retirement age.

There would have to be a lot of folks deciding to do the same thing for that action to have an effect on the workforce and economy. If a large segment of folks in that same age bracket did that, then there would be a real revenue problem for the government and for businesses depending on that part of the workforce to survive.

It has been said in various discussions in these forums that we represent only a small niche of the whole guitar buying market. If that is true and we all decided to buy a certain brand of guitar at the same time, that event would probably represent a blip for a month for that company's sales. If a majority of the guitar buying market made that same buying decision, then that company's profits would go through the roof for the duration of that event.

Tony

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by LiveMusic

A friend recently told me that the local Sonic is now closing at 6pm because "they can't find any workers." I don't get it, kids are out of school. And if they can stay open till 6, why not 6-10? Are kids now unwilling to work 'after hours?' It is young kids who work those Sonics. (eat-in-your-vehicle fast food)

I read the other day that only 1/3 of kids ages 16-19 will have a job this summer, and that is the highest percentage in years!

I don't get it. I started working at age 11 and always had a job, even when in school full time. My kids wanted summer jobs, did not need any prodding from me. I guess I'm now officially a dinosaur

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by reeve21

I read the other day that only 1/3 of kids ages 16-19 will have a job this summer, and that is the highest percentage in years!

I don't get it. I started working at age 11 and always had a job, even when in school full time. My kids wanted summer jobs, did not need any prodding from me. I guess I'm now officially a dinosaur

Many of us geezers have similar stories. I got my first job that paid into Social Security at 15 1/2, working for the Dept. Of Water and Power in Los Angeles in the summers. Prior to that, I washed windows and mowed lawns like many kids of the time.

Though I can't comment on kids today because I don't have any, somebody has to say it: Kids these days! Get off my lawn!

Tony