Jobs Expand by 850,000 with 188,000 of Them Government, But Employment Drops!
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16 comments on Jobs Expand by 850,000 with 188,000 of Them Government, But Employment Drops!
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16 Comments
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2 years ago
I would bet that many of those added government jobs are related to schools reopening and teachers and staff returning to in-person learning. I would classify that as a GOOD thing.
2 years ago
Leisure and hospitality is interesting. I know a lot of waiters, and most of them make significantly more than my employees, who are now all making $16-25/hr. I know waiters who have graduated college with accounting degrees and still wait tables because they make more money than they could bring down in an entry level corporate accounting position, even with with the CPA.
Waiting is also one of the only jobs that has a chance of paying a living wage that people with criminal records can get in this country, now that virtually every employer does a criminal background check.
I think waiting and bartending attract a certain kind of individual….one… who is willing and able to add a lot of value to their service and profit from it. Virtually all their pay is from tips. Or a good doorman in a place like NY would be another example…..those jobs are actually coveted, as is a good waitstaff position in a high-end restaurant.
It’s one of the few places where initiative actually counts for something. In my view, taking initiative in either a government job….or in MOST corporate jobs…….is more apt to be punished, not rewarded. There are some exceptions, of course.
It’s a bootstrap job. Before minimum wage took away so many low paying jobs, people used to bootstrap by doing all kinds of things we’d call “gig economy” jobs now. Working multiple jobs that could be somehow managed. Most of those jobs don’t even exist in our our world. The closest thing we have is something like Uber…which is why so many people drive for Uber. It’s ironic that the people who take the Uber jobs are trying to destroy the whole model by trying to force ride-sharing companies to change to the typical government/corporate model that supposedly “protects” workers rights.
2 years ago
I wonder if you know waiters over the age of 30. If the establishment doesn’t ease them out, they themselves start feeling odd in the job. Yes, it pays more for a few years, but then what?
2 years ago
Wrong side of my 30s here and have been in the food and beverage industry for 17 years now (all sides – started out in production and distribution, working for a few breweries, and now have been on the service side for the last 8). If you’re in a major metro area $40-50/hr isn’t outside the norm and if you’ve hung in there for that long you’re probably at least in some kind of managerial role or have landed yourself in a good spot that offers a benefits package. There is competition for talent and six-figures is possible even if you are just waiting tables or slinging drinks at the right place.
It definitely is for a “certain kind of individual” as Eddie_T said. Good luck trying to have normal friendships, a stable family life, etc. That said, I would never work a 9-5 again.
You are right though in the sense that if you get to the point where I’m at and don’t yet have a plan to be in an ownership position relatively soon you’re going to be miserable fast once you get into your 40s. The wear and tear on your body and mind will eventually catch up in and if you try to switch careers then you’re looking at a massive pay cut that most people can’t afford to take at that point in their lives.
2 years ago
Your story is completely congruent with what I’ve observed. I do know one guy who managed to buy out an older chef/entrepreneur and get to the ownership level. His restaurant did not make it through COVID though. I expect the rent was killing him. He is still pretty young and will no doubt come back. You can’t keep some people down.
It is a brutal business. I can see that. And you have to be able to stay away from all the temptations or you will self-destruct.
2 years ago
You go into politics.
2 years ago
I know several waiters in their forties, but I don’t think I know anybody over 50 waiting tables. I do know a few bartenders over 50.
2 years ago
Where I live, restaurants or pubs try to hire young, attractive chics. The last time I saw an over 50 waitress was in a place where the regular clientele was retirees. I haven’t been to fast food in the past decade or more, though.
2 years ago
“The stated unemployment rate is bogus.”
Baffle them with B.S.
2 years ago
It’s always bad news in the employment report but this month’s stats show signs that unemployment benefits ended and that people took jobs to survive. The story of American economy continues to be the hollowing out of the middle class and the forces of globalization. Jobs will tend to be lower paying across the board unless you happen to be in a professional or technical skilled person who can retrain themselves repeatedly to compete. No wonder many Americans give up and go into the FIRE – financial services, insurance and real estate. I would add government and healthcare to this. These are all wholly unproductive fields from a productivity growth standpoint which is required for a rising standard living. The bottom line is about 20% of employed people are pulling up the other 80%. This is part of why growth has been poor overall the last two deacdes.
2 years ago
Bingo and well stated
2 years ago
It also shows that a bunch of dumb****s sat of their rears collecting expanded unemployment benefits thinking they’ll get a job when the benefits run out. Instead of getting decent job when they were available. Now there will be a flood of job applicants just like them. People with a giant hole in their resume.
2 years ago
The early bird catches the worm.
2 years ago
Interesting analysis but I ask you. Since the 20% are pulling up the other 80% then if by magic the 50% vanish that would mean that the 20% would all be fabulously wealthy then. Secondly do you believe that the 80% do not provide any goods and services that the 20% would find essential? Myself I really don’t see how the top 20% cold live at all without the bottom 80%
2 years ago
Actually the 20% prospered more during covid and 80% were left behind at best because they were needed a lot less. I’m not really talking about the economy in typical terms but of productivity growth.
2 years ago
You concluded with “The bottom line is about 20% of employed people are pulling up the other 80%.” I understood that you feel that the 20% would be better off without the bottom 80% because they we holding the 20% back. I on the other hand recognize that the top 20% would not be able to make their money at all without the bottom 80% because the top 20%’s jobs and income depend on either managing, selling to or consuming the taxes of the bottom 80%. Chiefs without Indians can’t exist and Indians without chiefs can’t exist for long either.