Worker Shortage Cause(s)?

[Wandering Monk]

Interesting video from The Young Turks brings out some explanations:

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I keep hearing anecdotally that the reason there is a shortage of workers in low wage/entry level jobs is because folks can actually make more money on unemployment or other forms of public assistance than if they worked.

Is that accurate?

What other cause(s) might there be for the shortage of workers some industries seem to be having? Please cite your evidence.

When we're having shortages in a whole range of markets all arising around the same time - labour, semiconductors, toilet paper, bicycles, etc. - it seems strange to me to look at labour shortages in isolation as if they don't have anything in common with any of the other shortages.

 

[Kooky]

When we're having shortages in a whole range of markets all arising around the same time - labour, semiconductors, toilet paper, bicycles, etc. - it seems strange to me to look at labour shortages in isolation as if they don't have anything in common with any of the other shortages.

On the other hand, labor is not a good and does not behave like these other examples;
For example, it is so far still physically impossible to stockpile labor, but toilet paper and semiconductors both have been subject to such behavior.

 

[mangalavara]

If one hasn't managed to get employment after (the usual) 26 weeks what happens then? An invitation to lie in the gutter?

No. I was unemployed for several years before getting a job as a janitor. Then, I went to college, earned a bachelor's degree, and now I am a substitute teacher. I have plans to become a full time teacher abroad.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Would that be, say, disability, illness or old age?

Yes, but might also take a job...increasingly, people are turning to barter economy tactics, or were ten years ago when last I checked...working off the books for friends or acquaintances in exchange for straight cash or goods/services.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

On the other hand, labor is not a good and does not behave like these other examples;
For example, it is so far still physically impossible to stockpile labor, but toilet paper and semiconductors both have been subject to such behavior.

From what I've heard, the issues with toilet paper are less about stockpiling and more about the fact that consumer toilet paper and institutional toilet paper have very different supply chains involving completely separate companies, for the most part. The industry wasn't ready to quickly pivot to shifts in demand from institutional customers to consumer customers, even though the demand for toilet paper overall didn't really change.

 

[Wandering Monk]

The Republican line that jobs were going unfilled was because people were lazy and the stimulus checks make working unnecessary (as if anyone could live of a paltry stimulus check.) Well that tap has been turned off for a month now and those jobs are still going unfilled and then some; in addition to that the number working people LEAVING their jobs has increased.

 

[Jose Fly]

I just read an article at the WaPo on this. It wasn't overly informative (mostly anecdotal), but it did offer two reasons for why some folks are quitting their jobs and how they are able to still get by. First, there are lots of people who were at, or very near, retirement age but were still working, but for various reasons decided to just go ahead and retire and live a more modest lifestyle than they had planned earlier. Most of the stories from folks like this were about them realizing that their time was important too, so working more years for a few hundred dollars extra per month in retirement just wasn't worth it.

The second group were people who scrimped and saved during the pandemic, and as a result are now more free to "job shop". So if they're in a job they don't like, they can just quit and live off their savings while they look for something better.

The rest of the stories were of people who quit their jobs, but very much need to find another one.

 

[Shaul]

The Republican line that jobs were going unfilled was because people were lazy and the stimulus checks make working unnecessary (as if anyone could live of a paltry stimulus check.) Well that tap has been turned off for a month now and those jobs are still going unfilled and then some; in addition to that the number working people LEAVING their jobs has increased.

Please provide a citation of a Republican Party white paper or platform statement that says unemployment was caused because people were lazy.

 

[Wandering Monk]

Please provide a citation of a Republican Party white paper or platform statement that says unemployment was caused because people were lazy.

White paper? Why?

 

[Shaul]

White paper? Why?

Provide a citation to something showing the official position of the Republican Party is that people are not getting jobs because they are lazy. You claimed that was the Republican line. Prove it.

 

[Wandering Monk]

Provide a citation to something showing the official position of the Republican Party is that people are not getting jobs because they are lazy. You claimed that was the Republican line. Prove it.

I am speaking of Republicans around me and on the internet, not a party platform.