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There are not enough workers right now. The pandemic sped things up, but it was always coming. I have to wait forever in the grocery store because there are no

There are not enough workers right now. The pandemic sped things up, but it was always coming. I have to wait forever in the grocery store because there are no cashiers, forget baggers, I haven’t seen those since before the pandemic. Every place I know is desperate for workers who are somewhat competent and will, you know, work. I am sure this will ease a bit if we truly enter a recession and companies start laying off in mass, but right now I don’t see it. If this continues the US needs to reevaluate immigration policy or at least the number of immigrants let in per year.

fred_is_fred 4y ago
There are plenty of workers. The shortage is the number of people willing to bag groceries for the offered wage and work conditions. Companies can solve this pretty easily.
- AnimalMuppet 4y ago
  Companies can solve that pretty easily by raising wages... at the price of their business model. Grocery stores run on something like 1% margins, so if they raise wages, they either raise prices or go out of business. It's not just "accept less profit" for many businesses. (For some businesses, yes, they could accept less profit. Those tend to be the ones that raise wages when they can't get enough workers, because they have the incentive to do so.)
  - quantified 4y ago
    This is why the American economy needs lots of poor people and no safety net, so that the business models work.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - Pet_Ant 4y ago
      I know it’s meant facetiously, but I think it’s true. Without WalMart prices would the taco truck be able to offer the prices it does which maybe the most affordable way for some workers to eat, and the only job those taco makers have… we are on a precipice here.
      - quantified 4y ago
        The only way people clock into crappy jobs for little money is because they need to. If your produce was picked by someone paying $12/hr or more, it'd be a lot more expensive. It's absolutely true.
    - AnimalMuppet 4y ago
      If the grocery stores' business model doesn't work, that's not going to work out well for the poor people either...
  - fred_is_fred 4y ago
    Looks like plenty of room for this in groceries. https://www.yahoo.com/now/kroger-reports-third-quarter-2022-121500078.html https://www.yahoo.com/now/kroger-reports-third-quarter-2022-...
- jelliclesfarm 4y ago
  The solution is the automation of low wage jobs. I fail to understand why they still exist in the developed world. When will we make that shift..and eliminate them entirely?
  - etempleton 4y ago
    The automation for checking out and bagging groceries is terrible unless you are only buying a few things. It is slower and puts the work onto the customer.
    - jlokier 4y ago
      In the UK here. I haven't seen a grocery bagger in over 30 years, and usually don't use a grocery cashier either. The work is done by the customer but I never found it burdensome. I shop for groceries almost every day currently but in the past did large shops every 1 to 2 weeks, with quite varied loads. Is there a reason it's particularly difficult to bag your own groceries in the USA?
      - etempleton 4y ago
        I am not familiar with the UK model, but there isn’t enough room in the automated systems in the US. There isn’t really enough room for the carts or for bagging groceries. Beyond a single bag. The systems are really designed around buying a few items.
Red_Leaves_Flyy 4y ago
I’d rather work at the grocery in walking distance from my house. They pay roughly a fifth of what my current employer pays new unskilled hires without experience. Keep this in mind before you berate the impoverished help for not catering to your whims.
- etempleton 4y ago
  I am not berating workers. They are all doing the best they can and what makes sense for them. I am berating corporations and employers for not solving their own labor problem by offering higher wages and the government for being a too restrictive with immigration policy for years. There is a very real economic impact to low or negative population growth.
anikan_vader 4y ago
If only there were some mechanism in a market-based economy to solve labor shortages…

fred_is_fred 4y ago

There are plenty of workers. The shortage is the number of people willing to bag groceries for the offered wage and work conditions. Companies can solve this pretty easily.

AnimalMuppet 4y ago
Companies can solve that pretty easily by raising wages... at the price of their business model. Grocery stores run on something like 1% margins, so if they raise wages, they either raise prices or go out of business. It's not just "accept less profit" for many businesses. (For some businesses, yes, they could accept less profit. Those tend to be the ones that raise wages when they can't get enough workers, because they have the incentive to do so.)
- quantified 4y ago
  This is why the American economy needs lots of poor people and no safety net, so that the business models work.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - Pet_Ant 4y ago
    I know it’s meant facetiously, but I think it’s true. Without WalMart prices would the taco truck be able to offer the prices it does which maybe the most affordable way for some workers to eat, and the only job those taco makers have… we are on a precipice here.
    - quantified 4y ago
      The only way people clock into crappy jobs for little money is because they need to. If your produce was picked by someone paying $12/hr or more, it'd be a lot more expensive. It's absolutely true.
  - AnimalMuppet 4y ago
    If the grocery stores' business model doesn't work, that's not going to work out well for the poor people either...
- fred_is_fred 4y ago
  Looks like plenty of room for this in groceries. https://www.yahoo.com/now/kroger-reports-third-quarter-2022-121500078.html https://www.yahoo.com/now/kroger-reports-third-quarter-2022-...
jelliclesfarm 4y ago
The solution is the automation of low wage jobs. I fail to understand why they still exist in the developed world. When will we make that shift..and eliminate them entirely?
- etempleton 4y ago
  The automation for checking out and bagging groceries is terrible unless you are only buying a few things. It is slower and puts the work onto the customer.
  - jlokier 4y ago
    In the UK here. I haven't seen a grocery bagger in over 30 years, and usually don't use a grocery cashier either. The work is done by the customer but I never found it burdensome. I shop for groceries almost every day currently but in the past did large shops every 1 to 2 weeks, with quite varied loads. Is there a reason it's particularly difficult to bag your own groceries in the USA?
    - etempleton 4y ago
      I am not familiar with the UK model, but there isn’t enough room in the automated systems in the US. There isn’t really enough room for the carts or for bagging groceries. Beyond a single bag. The systems are really designed around buying a few items.

Red_Leaves_Flyy 4y ago

I’d rather work at the grocery in walking distance from my house. They pay roughly a fifth of what my current employer pays new unskilled hires without experience. Keep this in mind before you berate the impoverished help for not catering to your whims.

etempleton 4y ago
I am not berating workers. They are all doing the best they can and what makes sense for them. I am berating corporations and employers for not solving their own labor problem by offering higher wages and the government for being a too restrictive with immigration policy for years. There is a very real economic impact to low or negative population growth.

anikan_vader 4y ago

If only there were some mechanism in a market-based economy to solve labor shortages…