[quote=harvey][quote=CA renter]Bingo. There is no labor shortage. If the supply of labor isn’t keeping up with demand, then the price (wage) needs to be increased. People are willing and able to admit this regarding nearly every other market; but when it comes to labor, people act as though pricing mechanisms aren’t applicable.[/quote]
Who is claiming that there is a labor shortage?
“People” ?
There can be situations where there are simply not enough qualified people in the labor pool. Money can’t fix that, in the short-term at least. And often in the long-term as well.
No matter how much you pay me, I’m not qualified to be a paramedic.
The debate in the tech sector is often that there aren’t enough qualified Americans available. Some people just aren’t cut out to be programmers or whatever. Paying them more won’t change that. Of course training and education may help, but in some fields schooling doesn’t help if the aptitude isn’t there.
“Just raise the price” does not always work in the skilled labor market. It’s not a commodity.[/quote]
Have you been living under a rock all these years? Everyone who’s been advocating for open borders and generous work visas has done so under the guise of there being a labor shortage.
Even in areas that required advanced degrees, there is (generally speaking) no labor shortage, and certainly no shortage of people who are intellectually capable of learning the skills required of these more skilled trades.
The problem is money and job insecurity, especially when more and more employers are demanding very specific skill sets without being willing to train employees themselves. People are afraid to go though all of the work and expense to obtain a niche degree that might have been in high demand when they started, but that might not be in high demand once they graduate, especially if they need a Ph.D.
Once upon a time, companies were willing to invest in their employees — they paid them well, provided secure jobs, and invested in their employees’ education. In return, employees worked hard, were highly productive, and were loyal to these companies, often staying with them even if potentially better opportunities would arise, or when companies needed workers to help absorb some of the losses (money or hours worked) when economically challenging times would occur. IMO, if companies want workers with very specific skills, they should be willing to take someone who is “close enough” and train that person on the company’s dime.
“This wage data suggest that there is not a shortage of STEM workers broadly, or for commonly discussed computer occupations. (Data on all detailed STEM occupations is available here.) One reason employers might think they can’t find workers is that they may have inflexible requirements for vacant positions. For example, a company might require that workers work for low wages and long hours, or that they have particular certifications or unreasonably specific skills, or vague cultural attributes that favor certain types of people. There might also be an unwillingness to train new workers on-the-job, which was very common in the past.
So when employers complain about not being able to find workers, what they really mean is that they can’t find workers who meet their requirements at the wage they are willing to offer. With the cost of living rapidly rising in areas like San Francisco, where there are many STEM employers, it makes sense that workers would not apply for positions that offer wages they find to be too low.”
