I have no idea, but perhaps they need to add business courses in owning your own daycare/plumbing/auto business.
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@comtnmom - I agree. I hope that the counselors, teachers, parents and other adults are encouraging the girls to consider some of the better compensated career options. Sometimes that’s what young women need in order to see themselves in less traditional career paths. I don’t know if that’s happening. OTOH - the essential jobs being done by a lot of women (childcare and eldercare) are very poorly compensated.
I agree. There’s no reason women cannot do these skilled trade jobs and get in on that action. Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) showcased a female welder recently that was pulling in 6 figures while only being on the job a few years. She was a better welder than many of the men and was willing and able to learn and do the more technical work that pays very well.
It would be a great career opportunity for more women to be plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, etc. I’ve worked with several women that were very well paid mechanics, truck drivers, technicians, etc.
Here’s a link to the video where the young lady welder, Chloe, is interviewed if anyone is interested.
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@saillakeerie I can’t toss out a number, because I do not know the cost of living in every state. Before we can get there, we first have to agree that there needs to be a raise in minimum wage. The stock market has gone up by 450% since 2009, but minimum wage has been mostly unchanged during that same time. It’s time.
Even adjusting minimum wage to subsistence level for an individual would be a start. A logical case could be made for one adult and one kid. (But, I’m very skeptical of that MIT calculator which says in our area we’d need an extra $28000/year for a kid for a SUBSISTENCE wage.)
Someone above made a mention of access to cheap labor. Yes, it’s cheap for most employers but that’s ONLY because taxpayers are making up the difference between the earned wage and the subsistence wage. We’re helping to pay a significant part of the actual cost of the “cheap” labor at the daycare center, the nursing homes and Walmart
.
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I don’t know if this is a factor, but plumbers, hvac, electricians all go solo into customers’ homes. I know that’s a real concern for realtors and could see it influencing a woman’s career decision.
On the flip side, W doesn’t like being home alone when a tradesperson is coming by so we always schedule for when I’m home.
If I were to set a minimum wage that was to work across the country, I would base it on the Federal GS-1 level as there would be locality adjustments.
What’s the downside?
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That might be a great reason for more women to enter those trades. A lot of females are single or do not have a male in the home during the day and would feel much more comfortable having a female tradesperson show up.
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That’s a good thing to consider. I personally know many female realtors that go in homes all the time by themselves though.
As for the other trades. I worked as a commercial electrician in my younger days. We worked as a crew so were never really alone. The electricians that wired my house also worked as a crew. Yes, there certainly are specific instances where trades people do work alone in people’s houses though.
I’m sure there are many women that would love to have a female tradesperson work at their house instead of a male that might make them feel uncomfortable. It might be a whole new spin that tradeswomen could exploit to their advantage. Interesting to think about.
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I use a local exterminator company. My favorite tech who comes is the petite younger woman. I always think - wow - good for her (as she climbs her step stool to reach into the gaps in my basement ceiling).
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The most amazing home inspector we worked with was a petite woman. She was a carpenter (I believe) prior to an unfortunate accident that left her unable to fully use her hand. She pivoted to home inspection, and it worked great for her.
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Small size may be helpful in being able to enter tight spaces that larger persons may not be able to enter.
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Governments subsidize things all the time, and it’s not automatically bad that this is the case. Subsidizing childcare so poor people can work is usually seen as a good thing. There are lots of subsidies and tax breaks for having children, owning a home, going to college, etc.
Even though you cite jobs that can’t easily be offshored, there are still knock-on effects. If you pay the daycare worker $30 per hour then your factory worker will want more. So your factory making tradeable goods moves to a cheaper country. Do you impose tariffs and import quotas to cut off your economy from the world? None of this has easy answers.
Here’s an interesting time series of restaurant employment in SF: All Employees: Full-Service Restaurants in San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA (MD) (SMU06418847072251101A) | FRED | St. Louis Fed
Employment crashed in 2020, but interestingly it was falling even before the pandemic as restaurants became increasingly unaffordable due to rising costs, including labor.
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Our governor (Alabama) has announced that the state will stop participating in the pandemic unemployment benefits, so I guess we will soon see how that relates to the shortage of workers.
Alabama will stop participating in all federal pandemic unemployment programs | WBMA (abc3340.com)
And South Carolina, Montana and Arkansas too. Arizona and Vermont are changing certain requirements relating to searching for work.
I saw that Mississippi is following suit.
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Saw this. Interesting issues. U.S. jobs recovery reveals two very different Americas
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Yes, my state - Mississippi- has just announced that they are opting out of the Federal pandemic unemployment programs. We are pleased. A friend owns a furniture manufacturing company in the county. He can’t get workers - even with a $600 hiring bonus (after working a certain amount of hours). All of the restaurants are hiring.
On the good news front, my oldest grandson who is graduating in June just got hired at Pizza Hut!! He will be making $9.00 per hour. It will be his first job. Several companies that he applied to didn’t want anyone under 18 years of age. He didn’t really have an interview. He walked in well dressed and was hired on the spot!! I am very excited for him!!!
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I’ll admit I like seeing that businesses are having to up their wages without a mandate. The more I think of anyone having to live on $300/week for full time work simply because there are so many who need jobs and employers “don’t have to pay more” it boggles my mind.
I’m sure it will cost more for items and services. We all know those at the top can’t make a living off of merely earning 6 digits or higher, so can’t cut those wages!
It reminds me of my neighbor arguing that “the poor got more in the tax cuts than the wealthy!” She’s convinced of it due to the percentage rates (don’t recall exactly what they are). I told her, “so if someone making 20K per year now makes 30K per year they got 50% more and someone making $1,000,000 year gets 100K more, that’s “just” 10%. You’re arguing that the 100K is somehow less than the 10K in real dollars (aka spending money)? In whose world?” The poor did not get “more” in the tax cuts. Personally, I can’t fathom having to live on 30K while working a full time job. I bet the 30K person would be quite happy to have “just” the 10% 100K instead.
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If you cannot fathom living on $30k then maybe you think minimum wage needs to be more than $15/hr?
If labor costs increase (or any other costs to a business), businesses need to determine whether they can pass the increase on to customers, need to absorb the price increase or some combination of the two. Latest info I recall seeing is about 25-30% of the US workforce makes $15/hr or less. But it goes beyond that in terms of a minimum wage increase. If its increased to $15/hr, someone making $15/hr wouldn’t be impacted by the increase (legally). But if they are bringing higher than minimum wage skills to the table or have work responsibilities beyond minimum wage skills, they presumably would expect/demand a raise too. Why continue to work there with the same skills/responsibilities if they are being paid the minimum? So employers will need to pay people making above the new minimum more as well (likely the more you were making about $15, the less of an increase you would see – leading a a certain level of wage compression). Payroll taxes, benefits, etc also increase for the employer. And if your suppliers/vendors increase their prices (based on increased labor costs), your costs just increased further.
At that point, companies will look to increase prices of goods/services to help cover the difference. Sounds like you think all owners of companies make 6 figure incomes (or higher) and thus should just absorb any labor cost increases. Not all business owners have 6 figure incomes. Is it ok of they pass cost increased on to their customers? Should we limit salaries/income? At some point, is someone making too much?
To the extent prices in general increase, if your income increase is more than the increase in the price of goods you buy, you are likely happy. Less so if the increased prices are more than your pay increase. In that case, your real income decreased.
Some businesses will close. Ability to pass on labor cost increases to customers is limited and company profits not sufficient to cover those increased costs. Or resulting profits are insufficient for the owner to keep the business open. Others will cut employees. And look to find ways to reduce the number of employees needed (baggers eliminated in grocery stores, self checkout stands at retail locations, online ordering at restaurants, etc). Those employees lose their jobs.
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Inflation. Increased costs to consumers with reduced services.
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