Aug 16
2010
2010
Another look at low-wage jobs going unfilled
Last month, my colleague Laurie Bassi posted about the “surprising” finding that manufacturing firms are having a hard time filling some of their available jobs. Laurie noted that one likely explanation is fairly simple and obvious: many of the jobs are paying below-market wages and aren’t attracting workers for that reason.
Last week, Slate writer Daniel Gross tackled the same issue – and came to a similar conclusion: “employers shouldn’t be surprised that Americans won’t take their crummy, low-wage jobs.” He notes that even in an era of high unemployment, “the laws of supply and demand apply” and employers may simply not be offering terms that are attractive enough to potential employees.
Tagged skill shortages