3 ms·

Many of the 4.8 million unfilled jobs could be filled at a higher rate of pay. Some employers seem to think they get to set the pay and magically have qualified

by me2i81 12y ago

Many of the 4.8 million unfilled jobs could be filled at a higher rate of pay. Some employers seem to think they get to set the pay and magically have qualified applicants show up.

x0x0 12y ago
Yes, and run around bitching when they can't buy a bmw for hyundai pricing. Paying more allows you to hire workers with the skills you need; who knew? Steve Van Loan, president of Sullivan Palatek Inc. in Michigan City, said job hopping is becoming more of a problem. “They get an offer for more money across town, and they’re gone,” he said. Wages on average at his firm, which makes compressors that power drills and other tools, are rising 4% to 5% this year, compared with 2% to 3% in recent years, Mr. Van Loan said. “Everybody got so skinny back in the days when we were laying off everybody,” he said. “Now that the Midwest is getting some manufacturing back, it’s just tough to find workers” with the needed skills. [1] Or you could, gasp, train them! Though my personal guess is that a big chunk of the complaining is merely an attempt to dump training costs onto workers and local government in the form of 2-year technical colleges. Though that makes it much harder for employers to create workers with exactly the skills they need. Both the White House and governors are trying to fight a so-called skills gap among U.S. workers that many businesses blame for the slow labor-market recovery. Although plenty of Americans are looking for work, employers often lament a lack of qualified workers—particularly young people. Germany, in contrast, has a long record of finding a stronger fit between employees' skills and employers' demands. The success is reflected in a youth unemployment below 8%, the lowest of any advanced country and about half of the U.S. level. The apprenticeship system is credited as a leading driver of what many European economists call the German labor-market "miracle." [2] [1] http://online.wsj.com/articles/manufacturing-wages-rise-fast-in-some-states-amid-skills-shortages-1412802098 http://online.wsj.com/articles/manufacturing-wages-rise-fast... [2] http://online.wsj.com/articles/skills-gap-bumps-up-against-vocational-taboo-1410473392 http://online.wsj.com/articles/skills-gap-bumps-up-against-v... ps -- sorry for the wsj links, google the stuff after the final slash and you can bypass the paywall
- michaelchisari 12y ago
  > Wages on average at his firm, which makes compressors that power drills and other tools, are rising 4% to 5% this year, compared with 2% to 3% in recent years. That doesn't seem out of line with inflation. If they didn't increase, that means they would be stagnant as the cost of living increased, which would be bad for the employees.
- Spooky23 12y ago
  My employer is whining about a similar thing... They created a system where entry employees now need to wait 5-7 years to make more than about 60k in IT. The good ones are doubling salaries, and the conclusion drawn is that millennials are not loyal!
snowwrestler 12y ago
Presumably the qualified applicants who would be tempted by higher pay already have jobs. If they leave one job for another, that doesn't actually reduce that 4.8 million number. It just moves the unfilled job from one company to another.

by me2i81 12y ago

Many of the 4.8 million unfilled jobs could be filled at a higher rate of pay. Some employers seem to think they get to set the pay and magically have qualified applicants show up.

x0x0 12y ago

Yes, and run around bitching when they can't buy a bmw for hyundai pricing. Paying more allows you to hire workers with the skills you need; who knew? Steve Van Loan, president of Sullivan Palatek Inc. in Michigan City, said job hopping is becoming more of a problem. “They get an offer for more money across town, and they’re gone,” he said. Wages on average at his firm, which makes compressors that power drills and other tools, are rising 4% to 5% this year, compared with 2% to 3% in recent years, Mr. Van Loan said. “Everybody got so skinny back in the days when we were laying off everybody,” he said. “Now that the Midwest is getting some manufacturing back, it’s just tough to find workers” with the needed skills. [1] Or you could, gasp, train them! Though my personal guess is that a big chunk of the complaining is merely an attempt to dump training costs onto workers and local government in the form of 2-year technical colleges. Though that makes it much harder for employers to create workers with exactly the skills they need. Both the White House and governors are trying to fight a so-called skills gap among U.S. workers that many businesses blame for the slow labor-market recovery. Although plenty of Americans are looking for work, employers often lament a lack of qualified workers—particularly young people. Germany, in contrast, has a long record of finding a stronger fit between employees' skills and employers' demands. The success is reflected in a youth unemployment below 8%, the lowest of any advanced country and about half of the U.S. level. The apprenticeship system is credited as a leading driver of what many European economists call the German labor-market "miracle." [2] [1] http://online.wsj.com/articles/manufacturing-wages-rise-fast-in-some-states-amid-skills-shortages-1412802098 http://online.wsj.com/articles/manufacturing-wages-rise-fast... [2] http://online.wsj.com/articles/skills-gap-bumps-up-against-vocational-taboo-1410473392 http://online.wsj.com/articles/skills-gap-bumps-up-against-v... ps -- sorry for the wsj links, google the stuff after the final slash and you can bypass the paywall

michaelchisari 12y ago
> Wages on average at his firm, which makes compressors that power drills and other tools, are rising 4% to 5% this year, compared with 2% to 3% in recent years. That doesn't seem out of line with inflation. If they didn't increase, that means they would be stagnant as the cost of living increased, which would be bad for the employees.
Spooky23 12y ago
My employer is whining about a similar thing... They created a system where entry employees now need to wait 5-7 years to make more than about 60k in IT. The good ones are doubling salaries, and the conclusion drawn is that millennials are not loyal!

snowwrestler 12y ago

Presumably the qualified applicants who would be tempted by higher pay already have jobs. If they leave one job for another, that doesn't actually reduce that 4.8 million number. It just moves the unfilled job from one company to another.