OT: Job Report.
- Thread starter GloryDawg
- Start date
I’m a fan of calling it the employment rate and citing that instead. Only a politician would think to say we are at a 4% unemployment rate instead of saying we are at a 96% employment rate. It’s one of the greatest things about our country and a reason why so many are clamoring to move here, yet we have them using it as a negative metric.
But still, how can unemployment be xx%, when there are more job openings than people willing to fill them?
BS metric. If anyone isn’t working right now, they don’t want a job, or are overqualified for something we don’t need right now.
But our employment rate is like 60% or so, which means saying it's 96% is incorrect.
60% working
4% unemployed
19.83% other**
I am guessing they don't cite the employment rate because it doesn't show how many aren't working yet want to work.
Civilian Labor Force Participation rate is the best metric.
Or how many that simply don't want to work. I find it very hard to believe there are people who genuinely want to work but can't find a job. I think every single restaurant and fast food joint is hiring. They have been since rona. Can't remember the last time I went to one and didn't see a "now hiring" sign.
Last week I had a woman quit a job in a state that is between MS and KY. Had been with us a couple of years and overall did a good job hitting the clock from 7-4 making $24/hr.
On her termination paper (voluntary document for those leaving the company) she wrote: Applied for government housing but I make too much money here.
On her termination paper (voluntary document for those leaving the company) she wrote: Applied for government housing but I make too much money here.
No, not really. Not when these jobs numbers have been adjusted down all year. Anyone who believes those reports are good deserves everything they get.
That sounds like she did OK with you but not OK enough to secure housing? That's roughly $50k, right? I've had to literally coach people who are coming out of poverty to see subsidy reductions as success on their part. Maybe she doesn't have anyone to help her see another path and fell right back into a familiar one?
If it is the same measurement as the one that we were using to say the job outlook was "bad", but now it says it is "good", at a minimum, it has comparative value and shows improvement. Some of the replies here feels like people rooting against an MSU football coach to be sure that they get fired at the end of the season. Just enjoy the win. I'm sure we will see that number vary throughout the rest of our lives, just like it always has...
Cannot keep up a lifestyle if you're having to pay full price for housing. Here, the way these folks play the game is to start work at a heavy industrial facility and find their way into an incident so they can collect workers comp and do cash side gigs.
There’s absolutely nothing in this thread that makes this lockable yet.
We have a family friend who is an electrician at Memphis International Airport and he’s really close to retirement and could actually retire now if he wanted. They are almost on their knees begging him not to retire yet because they can’t find people to replace him and his co workers that are close to his age.
Labor force participation, Mississippi, 53.8%. Worst in the U.S.
Was just trying to beat the rush
I would be curious to know what his salary range is. I get the sense that people are not going into these types of jobs because the pay has not kept up with today's cost of living. Could be wrong, but that's my guess.
I prefer to take out the 55+ crowd, as a person that is retired would be very difficult to lure back into the work force, The Labor Force Participation Rate - 25-54 Yrs. is down a bit this month to 83.9% from 84% but still trending up since Covid
My wife works at Oxford in Healthcare . She has a couple of openings for $40-$50K year job with full benefits that only requires a high school diploma. Training is on job training and eventually could turn into a higher paying position. Day shift no Holidays…. They have had two applicants, neither showed up for interview.
Sounds like they need to up the ante'. I mean you have to live and work in Oxford.
I would also be interested to know what the salary range for new hires is.
If they can't fill positions, maybe they aren't offering enough pay and/or maybe they aren't clearly highlighting their total compensation package.
I own a restaurant in a one of the tightest labor markets in the country. We took the help wanted sign down 6 months ago and I turn down job seekers left and right. Here's the TLDR on why that is...
I'm just sick of how poorly most people work or how little they actually show up. Spent the last six months simplifying process and condensing hours. Now open 5 days a week for 9 hours a day. I have a solid crew of 7 full time workers and 5 part time employees. They all make $18-$24 hour plus tips which range from $7-$15 extra per hour.
By closing one extra day a week (we were always closed on Sundays) and reducing closing time from 10pm to 8pm we have gone from 22 employees to 13. They all make more money and so do I.
Next time you go to a restaurant that is closed and you think it shouldn't be think about it as if you owned the business:
- How would you staff a business for 6 or 7 days a week? Do you not give employees back to back days off? Do you you only give them one day a week off? What I found is by being open Monday through Saturday, I had a really great crew Tuesday through Friday. Monday and Saturday sucked though. Half of my full time A players were off Monday and the other half Saturday. So I had to have a bunch of crappy part timers or even worse the burnt out 2nd or 3rd job crowd. Mondays are slow anyway, since we are a resort town and Monday is when everyone is gone back to wherever they live full time... so we closed and save a ton on labor overall.
- Have you ever walked into a restaurant that was busy after 8-9pm? Not often. Bars sure. But that last hour or two is barely enough to cover the lights being on some times.
- I think restaurants everywhere are figuring this stuff out. I treat it like any other business. We are chasing dollars and quarters with the business now, the fast food joints can have the nickels and dimes that show up on slow days and late hours.
It's a 17ing battle of attrition in the restaurant industry right now. You win by having the best staff or robots. Would really like some robots.
Changing subject somewhat, do you have to pay employer's tax on tips given to your servers?
The same fuzzy math can be said for that 4% number. I’d rather they report positively than tell us the country is doomed in every imaginable way. Both major parties are nothing more than alarmists and fear peddlers.
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We don't have servers. We are more of an order at the counter and we'll bring it out operation (Pizza joint.) And about 70-75% of our business is takeout. So our tips aren't typical cash on the table tips or sign and leave and amount. We operate at approximately 91% credit/debit card payments and 9% cash. We have a check out screen that asks if you'd like to leave one and gives a 10-15-20% option or custom if you choose to tip. The tips are all pooled and each employee working at that time gets an equal share.
I hold 2.5% of the tip pool back for CC processing fees and the rest go onto the employees paycheck as ordinary income. So I do pay normal payroll taxes. Our CC tips average about 15% per ticket and the cash tips are more like 5-6%... So for my employee's sakes, we really try to steer everyone to CC payments.
I do hope tips go untaxed soon, not for my benefit, but for the employees sakes.
Granted you have to have a degree to teach, but the hourly pay is still going to be a good bit less than for the average teacher and when you throw in pension, it's an even bigger difference.
Not what I am seeing. We successfully convinced most of a generation or two that electrician and plumber is somehow a low status job and less respectable than pretty much any office job other than receptionist. So a lot of potential electricians and plumbers did other things, and we have a shortage. Pay has gone up, but as far as I can tell it's enticing older people to work longer, not really getting young people into training. But maybe they are getting trained now and we will see a bigger supply in the next year or two.
It would not be crazy to see somebody losing benefits with an implicit marginal tax rate into the 90's. I haven't seen the data for a long time, so it may not be this way now, but it used to be that a fairly standard situation (like an earner in a family of four with two earners) could see an implicit marginal tax rate of over 90% as they increased their salary by $20k. So going from something like $45k to $65k, which would presumably require some hard work and potentially over several years to increase your pay that much, basically barely moves the needle. Of course people get frustrated and decide that they're better off working less hard or probably more likely with a less stressful position and/or less hours and have basically the same amount after taxes and transfers.
ETA: Not the data I remember, but shows pretty high implicit marginal tax rates:
Snapshot of Marginal Tax Rates for Low- and Moderate-Income Workers | Congressional Budget Office
In 2013, 37 percent of low- and moderate-income taxpayers who have earnings face total marginal tax rates between 30 percent and 39 percent, and over 20 percent of that group face marginal rates of 40 percent or more.
www.cbo.gov
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Oxford real estate is crazy.
Checking RealtordotCom and the cheapest house for sale is $210,000.
Fifteen years ago, I was a finalist for a position in Oxford and places were more than $100k cheaper when I glanced there then…
That’s because we haven’t called out the Republicans or the Democrats yet
I'm not basing this on anything other than my own personal experience, but the trade business (electrical, plumbing, landscaping, etc) has always been an enigma to me. I've run into a lot of people over the years that are extremely knowledgeable at what they do, and some of them are some of the nicest guys I've met. However, I could also probably count the number that actually have common business sense on two hands. Don't call you back, poor cash flow, overbook, show up late to appointments, snap back at clients that dare to question something... the list goes on and on
Then, when you get into ones like the airport technician, my bet is that the job probably pays pretty well, provides benefits, and gives you a schedule that you can plan around. However, I've rarely encountered one of these individuals that is overly fond of working for the man. In fact, most of the ones that I'm actual friends with know good and well that they could be doing better in a job like this, but they won't give up the flexibility of working their own schedule for anything. It's a weird concept to me because I won't understand what a day off is worth when you're stressing about money and clients yelling at you, but to each his own I guess. I have a lot of respect for the trade industry, but it's definitely a different breed from the usual white collar world
I see way more under 45 electricians and plumbers than over 45.
45 being about halfway in one's typical working career.
Therr is a reason why SSDI claims are filled with blue collar/working/trades workers and not with office type workers. Those jobs are statistically way harder on one's body and bodies break down.
Unless someone can transition from plumber to manager/owner, it's tough to be 60 years old in those field and similar fields.
^ this is all generalizations and we could all point to specific relatives or neighbors who are 60 and still laying shingles or up in a ladder all day wiring basements.
But those examples don't refute the overall realities mentioned earlier.
I am all for more plumbers, electricians, etc. The trades will continue to increase in popularity as they are able to show increased reliable job paths after 20 years experience.
I have a son that is a 2022 graduate in business administration from Mississippi State. He has had a difficult time finding a job using his degree. He is currently working a job that he could’ve gotten out of high school without a degree while he continues to look for something better.
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