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Baby Boomers are retiring and dying off. So many of them held jobs without a college degree because they didn't need one out of high school or the military. Th

Baby Boomers are retiring and dying off. So many of them held jobs without a college degree because they didn't need one out of high school or the military. That and covid-19 killed the job market as people found they could last on unemployment rather than work a job.

Supermancho 5y ago
> people found they could last on unemployment rather than work a job. I haven't found this credible (this year, at least). Unemployment doesn't last forever and it's decidedly less than what they were making before. The former is more compelling than the latter, but the basic economics tell me that it isn't ppl living out of hallways that has caused a shortage of labor. How many years can this be reasonably asserted? I think it's a combination of the inflation and the building up of debt/loss of stability due to the pandemic. While the unemployment was nice, it's long gone and that labor (by the numbers) didn't all die off.
- fragmede 5y ago
  There were absolutely people that were making more on unemployment, at the height of the pandemic in 2020. (Specifying 2020 because more people have died from Covid-19 in 2021 than 2020.) Depending on the state, unemployment was some $900/week. That works out to $46.8k/yr, which is below the official federal poverty line of $52k/yr. But there are people who live there. That these people seems to have been the undervalued backbone our economy, working 3 part-time jobs, 7 days a week, is extremely depressing.
  - tzs 5y ago
    > That works out to $46.8k/yr, which is below the official federal poverty line of $52k/yr. The federal poverty line depends on household size, and only reaches $52k/yr when the household size reaches 10 people. For a household of N people in 2021 it was 12880 + 4540 (N-1). Did you perhaps mix the poverty line up with the ACA subsidy maximum income? The ACA subsidy maximum income is 4x the poverty line, which works out to just under $52k for an individual?
    - fragmede 5y ago
      Ah thanks. I was confused, $52k is SF median income.
  - simonsarris 5y ago
    > That works out to $46.8k/yr, which is below the official federal poverty line of $52k/yr. What on earth? It's $12,880. Not 52k. How does 52k even pass the sniff test for you? https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references/2021-poverty-guidelines https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/povert...
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
taneq 5y ago
> people found they could last on unemployment rather than work a job. The real question to ask when considering anyone to whom this genuinely applies is what kind of job provides less net benefit than unemployment?
- josephcsible 5y ago
  You seem to be assuming that the job provides too little and unemployment provides the right amount, and ignoring the much more likely case that the jobs provides the right amount, and unemployment provides way too much.
- hansel_der 5y ago
  i guess taking part in scociety is a net benefit on it's own, but the low-pay job sector is booming in no small part due to the rise of automation at discharge/distribution platforms.
lrem 5y ago
Who doesn't know anyone who subsided off social benefits well before the pandemics?
- arbitrage 5y ago
  Lots of people. What's your point?
  - lrem 5y ago
    Saying that "job market was killed by people realizing they can subside off benefits" simply ignores the reality. A small but non-trivial percentage of people hold jobs only as much as they need to get the benefits back. Each such person knows a hundred more people, that now also know one can do this. But most of them don't like the idea of not having a job for cultural reasons. On top of that a job is more money, which is nice.

Supermancho 5y ago

> people found they could last on unemployment rather than work a job. I haven't found this credible (this year, at least). Unemployment doesn't last forever and it's decidedly less than what they were making before. The former is more compelling than the latter, but the basic economics tell me that it isn't ppl living out of hallways that has caused a shortage of labor. How many years can this be reasonably asserted? I think it's a combination of the inflation and the building up of debt/loss of stability due to the pandemic. While the unemployment was nice, it's long gone and that labor (by the numbers) didn't all die off.

fragmede 5y ago
There were absolutely people that were making more on unemployment, at the height of the pandemic in 2020. (Specifying 2020 because more people have died from Covid-19 in 2021 than 2020.) Depending on the state, unemployment was some $900/week. That works out to $46.8k/yr, which is below the official federal poverty line of $52k/yr. But there are people who live there. That these people seems to have been the undervalued backbone our economy, working 3 part-time jobs, 7 days a week, is extremely depressing.
- tzs 5y ago
  > That works out to $46.8k/yr, which is below the official federal poverty line of $52k/yr. The federal poverty line depends on household size, and only reaches $52k/yr when the household size reaches 10 people. For a household of N people in 2021 it was 12880 + 4540 (N-1). Did you perhaps mix the poverty line up with the ACA subsidy maximum income? The ACA subsidy maximum income is 4x the poverty line, which works out to just under $52k for an individual?
  - fragmede 5y ago
    Ah thanks. I was confused, $52k is SF median income.
- simonsarris 5y ago
  > That works out to $46.8k/yr, which is below the official federal poverty line of $52k/yr. What on earth? It's $12,880. Not 52k. How does 52k even pass the sniff test for you? https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references/2021-poverty-guidelines https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/povert...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

taneq 5y ago

> people found they could last on unemployment rather than work a job. The real question to ask when considering anyone to whom this genuinely applies is what kind of job provides less net benefit than unemployment?

josephcsible 5y ago
You seem to be assuming that the job provides too little and unemployment provides the right amount, and ignoring the much more likely case that the jobs provides the right amount, and unemployment provides way too much.
hansel_der 5y ago
i guess taking part in scociety is a net benefit on it's own, but the low-pay job sector is booming in no small part due to the rise of automation at discharge/distribution platforms.

lrem 5y ago

Who doesn't know anyone who subsided off social benefits well before the pandemics?

arbitrage 5y ago
Lots of people. What's your point?
- lrem 5y ago
  Saying that "job market was killed by people realizing they can subside off benefits" simply ignores the reality. A small but non-trivial percentage of people hold jobs only as much as they need to get the benefits back. Each such person knows a hundred more people, that now also know one can do this. But most of them don't like the idea of not having a job for cultural reasons. On top of that a job is more money, which is nice.