Now Hiring!!

"Soon they had to get two managers to open and staff two more lines to handle the people. Why managers? They did not have enough employees."

When my wife and I are out and about doing errands, we are simply amazed by the number of establishments who are now hiring. It is not just a few - it is everywhere. In fact we noticed something very interesting when we were at Target yesterday. It was somewhat busy, as folks were buying Easter stuff on sale. And come checkout time, there were only three lanes open with long lines behind them. Soon they had to get two managers to open and staff two more lines to handle the people. Why managers? They did not have enough employees. The help wanted signs were all over the store.

Cheerleaders for the Obama Administration would look that all these help wanted signs and signal victory over the "Bush Recession". But this story is like an onion. We need to peel it back at bit. Here are some interesting facts concerning this "robust economy":

• Somebody had posted an interesting survey online last week which showed the average assistance payout per state. And then how that amount related to having a hourly job. My first shock was that Minnesota was not in the top five. We were number fourteen. And if you are on assistance in Minnesota, it is equivalent to making almost $15/hour. So who in their right mind would work for Target at $10/hour, when you can do nothing and make $5/hour more?
• Today in the paper was an article about Millennials making the same wages (adjusted for inflation) as were paid in 1984. When I first saw that, I thought so what? I was working in 1984. We made enough to survive on. Then the punch line came. Unlike me and my peers in 1984, today's college educated Millennials are burdened with staggering student loans. Many so big they preclude young Johnny or Sally from buying a house (even at near record low interest rates). The article concluded by saying the one thing Millennials want more than any other is - a raise. 
• However if you are not a college graduate, real wages (adjusted for inflation) continue to fall. Even though there are a plethora of open jobs right now in the $10-$15/hour range, there are still plenty closer to the minimum wage. And with today's hidden inflation, working a minimum wage as a livable job just doesn't cut it.

Our next President is going to have to face this issue head on. Our economy is way out of balance. We have tens of thousands of lower paying jobs that go unfilled. And yet we have some higher technology jobs where there are not enough qualified people to fill them. Many times we need to go offshore to bring people in on a I-9 Visa to fill them.

One final comment. There was another article in the paper today about the 7 county metro area hitting 3 million people for a population. One would think with those kinds of numbers, there should not be one job unfilled. Maybe it is time to adjust our assistance programs downward. That would kill more than one bird with one stone.