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We had ~650k deaths from covid19 in the last year alone (and counting), bit part of them were minimum wage workers. After the black plague in Europe, labor was

by ews 5y ago

We had ~650k deaths from covid19 in the last year alone (and counting), bit part of them were minimum wage workers. After the black plague in Europe, labor was in such a short supply that wages multiplied. This is definitely having an effect on the labor market. The consensus here seems to be that companies should start raising wages significantly. There is no other way.

bpodgursky 5y ago
Only about ~120k of them were even under 65: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#SexAndAge https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#Se... Considering that even those will be weighted towards towards the already disabled, there's no way this makes a meaningful dent.
barbazoo 5y ago
> bit [sic] part of them were minimum wage workers I'm not sure that's correct. According to the CDC the vast majority of deaths were among people 65+ [1]. The curve for minimum wage workers is pretty much the opposite, the vast majority of minimum wage workers are between 16 and 24 yo [2]. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#AgeAndSex https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#Ag... [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/298852/minimum-wage-workers-in-the-us-by-age/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/298852/minimum-wage-work...
occamrazor 5y ago
COVID killed about 0.2% of the population and about half of the death were in the >80 years age range. The death rate in the working age population has virtually no impact on the labour supply.
pridkett 5y ago
That’s a popular narrative, but it may not be true. Of the 650k deaths in the USA, about 475k were people over 65 and most were probably out of the labor force[0]. That’s not to say that a 175k hit to labor force is nothing, but it’s not the sole factor at play here. [0]: https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Deaths-by-Sex-and-Age/9bhg-hcku https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Deaths-by-Sex...
cortesoft 5y ago
Not to be morbid, but dead people don't consume, either. You are right that they are no longer in the labor pool, but they are also no longer in the consumer pool. Given that Covid disproportionately kills elderly people, who are out of the labor pool but still consuming, I would think their deaths would cause a greater reduction in consumer demand than in labor supply.

by ews 5y ago

bpodgursky 5y ago

Only about ~120k of them were even under 65: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#SexAndAge https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#Se... Considering that even those will be weighted towards towards the already disabled, there's no way this makes a meaningful dent.

barbazoo 5y ago

> bit [sic] part of them were minimum wage workers I'm not sure that's correct. According to the CDC the vast majority of deaths were among people 65+ [1]. The curve for minimum wage workers is pretty much the opposite, the vast majority of minimum wage workers are between 16 and 24 yo [2]. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#AgeAndSex https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#Ag... [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/298852/minimum-wage-workers-in-the-us-by-age/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/298852/minimum-wage-work...

occamrazor 5y ago

COVID killed about 0.2% of the population and about half of the death were in the >80 years age range. The death rate in the working age population has virtually no impact on the labour supply.

pridkett 5y ago

That’s a popular narrative, but it may not be true. Of the 650k deaths in the USA, about 475k were people over 65 and most were probably out of the labor force[0]. That’s not to say that a 175k hit to labor force is nothing, but it’s not the sole factor at play here. [0]: https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Deaths-by-Sex-and-Age/9bhg-hcku https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Deaths-by-Sex...

cortesoft 5y ago

Not to be morbid, but dead people don't consume, either. You are right that they are no longer in the labor pool, but they are also no longer in the consumer pool. Given that Covid disproportionately kills elderly people, who are out of the labor pool but still consuming, I would think their deaths would cause a greater reduction in consumer demand than in labor supply.