Who the fook is going to hire an illegal? The IRS will get your ass for that and are small business willing to carry the additional tax from the earnings if they pay them under the table?

I talk to a number of college students, they can't seem to find part time work and yet, there are shortages? Maybe employers only want to hire stable, older workers knowing they must come show up to work due to having family to support?

"Close the boarders!"

"Why's my order taking so long?"

Corporate America will have to get off its ass and pay a living wage to the workers who have carried them to record profits on their backs, all the while not being able to afford a ****ty apartment, and a used Chevy Cruze.

Who?

Everyone.

You have two basic types of things going on.

Trade / cash businesses. All you need is one person who can open a bank account to cash checks or deposit cash. So a bunch of construction, landscaping, restaurants, cleaning services, roofing, etc...

Then you have the large companies that comply with Fed regs on vetting employees for citizenship status. Problem there, there is a large market in fake documentation that allows these companies to comply with Fed regs and still look the other way or at least not check any deeper than they are required to do. Those undocumented with fake papers do have SS and Medicare withheld that they never claim, as in they don't file taxes, they just eat it. I suspect the Fed doesn't look at them as hard as they should either because they are good for up to $15 Billion a year in SS contributions that the fund never has to pay back.

As far as college students. I can see they would have a harder time getting some of those lower end jobs. Employer has to know going in that their time with the job is limited to how long it takes them to find a better job that aligns with their degree. Kinda like how some companies don't like hiring woman because there is a high probability at some point they'll be having kids.

Pretty much! Problem is, in a "global economy" where we have this wonderful free trade thing, they'll just move the manufacturing to a country with a lower labor cost.

The INCREDIBLY stupid thing about that is, my youngest is 17. She graduates in May. She can't get a job as many places because she's not 18. She doesn't turn 18 until July. Stupid... stupid... stupid.

It is not a shortage of workers. It is a shortage of people interested in working.

When there are more jobs than people unemployed, it's a worker shortage. People should be able to retire at some point and the younger generation fill in the gaps. But as someone mentioned earlier people aren't procreating the way they once did.

Correct. Boomers are retiring (that accelerated big time w/ Covid) and the younger working age population has flatlined if not decreased the past few years, reversing a strong trend that lasted decades. For sure there are some that just don't want to work, but demographics are playing a large role here as well.

Depends on how you define, "unemployed"


Nothing I have seen makes me doubt my initial assessment at all.

I'm not sure it matters how the word unemployed is defined. There are more jobs than there are people ready, willing, and able to fill those jobs. The job market is so good that a person can start a job, decide they don't like that job, quit that job, and have another job the next day. Employers need to understand the reality that exists now and adjust accordingly.

As I mentioned, it's crazy that the plant my son works at will punish you for exceeding quota by increasing quota if you exceed it. What they should do is incentivize beating quota by offering a bonus if you exceed quota for a certain number of days, weeks... whatever. Find ways to make employees want to be more efficient and more importantly more happy with their work and you'll get more workers. It's really not a difficult thing to figure out.

This makes too much sense. Just let the market figure itself out. No need to be concerned. Employers will do what they have to to stay in business.

The corporate view on that, if workers are consistently exceeding quota, the quota was set too low.

Stop giving people other people's money and they will want to go to work. As noted by others, there is no shortage or work and no shortage of people not choosing to work. Government policy is what separate the two. It is also what keeps wages low by bringing in waves of foreigners that will work for less (or sending work overseas).

Some people chose not to work because, they don't have to, they are already financially secure.

Re: McDonalds, I've not been to any and witnessed anyone standing around. Everyone there was continuously moving and moving quite briskly. Also, not many obese people working there for long.

Anecdotally, we had to drive to St. Paul a couple of times this week and Bruegger's Bagels is a treat for us. Stopped at the same store twice mid-morning and the same and only guy behind the counter was busting his butt to keep up each time. Truly, hauling ass and moving with nearly zero wasted motion. Of note is that he was also very courteous...and very much appeared and spoke to be first gen in MN. If he was getting paid $40/hour, (certainly not the situation) he was earning all of it.

Believe me, I understand that viewpoint. But some can easily make quota while others struggle. My son said he works hard and gets to near his quota about an hour and a half before his shift ends. He then eases up and finishes the shift at quota. He could easily do more, but he doesn't because the reward is increasing the quota. Several times he has been pulled from his line to go help someone that got behind on their line. What does that teach the person who got behind? Someone will be sent in to bail them out.

Reward the good workers. That's how it should be. But I'm not a plant manager, or shift supervisor or line leader so what do I know?

That's because like every other fast food place, they're severely understaffed. I worked at Wendy's when I was in trade school. It isn't rocket science and when fully staffed, it's not hard work. Even when under staffed, I've done much more difficult things and under far more stressful conditions. The worst times were lunch and dinner. The rest of the day was pretty much a snoozefest. "Go mop the floors" or "Go rotate the items in the cooler"