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Are companies *really* hiring?

Exaltist Ethan

Bridging the Gap Between Believers and Skeptics
I'm a professional RF poster. The pay is lousy and the benefits are slim to none. The frubals are nice though.

... but really, what I think is going on is with automation going on what took many people to do a single task now takes a few or none. Look at the modern McDonald's around town. You can't even order in front of the counter anymore, they have screens to order from now. A better example of this is telephone companies. Each phone call used to be controlled by an operator. The "operators" that exist now install wireless towers that can handle thousands upon thousands of phone calls without the need for each phone call to be controlled by an individual operator.

Getting back my own experiences, when I became an adult I tried an anti-depressant, which caused me to become psychotically manic, and after I was put on stronger drugs, was put on SSI. My example is not atypical, in fact, about 40-45% of the American population is living on some form of welfare. I don't live with my parents, but if I didn't have the benefits I have, including SSI, Medicaid, Section 8 and more, I would be dead right now because my parents couldn't handle me while I was under or over medicated. Thankfully right now I happen to be on the right assortment of drugs but do you really think an employer is going to hire me after it eventually comes out that I'm psychiatric case? Even if I do get a job I will always be underemployed. One of my medications costs $23,000 and no private insurance is going to touch that.

So, between automation and the rise of the mentally ill, it doesn't surprise that many people aren't working. Some people may still be living with their parents, but the vast majority who aren't working is because of the former two reasons.
 
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Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
I suppose it depends on the field. I'm usually in high-demand fields, often with high-turnover rates so hiring hasn't really ever been an issue for me but rather putting on the performance needed for an interview.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Side hustles, monetizing hobbies, and other means of self employment that give them more time, freedom and control over their lives even if they aren't as well off financially as before.

That may very well be. I've never given people in my area enough credit for being that smart. I myself have been thinking about what I could do from home, given that my ability to do physical work is limited.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
That may very well be. I've never given people in my area enough credit for being that smart. I myself have been thinking about what I could do from home, given that my ability to do physical work is limited.
It's not bad idea. Lately I've been considering refocusing what I used to do and grit my teeth and learn all this internet stuff I don't know (including effectively using social media, which I'm not even on). Even if it's not that much money, being able to say "get up and get started when I want to" when people ask what do you is always nice (but I've never been corporate or career minded).
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
If you don't mind my asking, what field was that? Reading such things worries me a bit, but maybe it's a field totally unrelated to mine (software).
It's the same in software, at least in Europe. As people can sue for defamation if a rejection is badly worded, employers often skip that step.
And, as you yourself have mentioned, the software industry is one of those which put out openings for PR reasons without really hiring. You wouldn't get a "just kidding" reply from them.
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
We all see signs all over from businesses saying they're hiring. But I wonder if they really are and it's not just a crock of ****. Hear me out.

At the beginning of the pandemic so many jobs were eliminated, so many companies closed and laid off people, so many companies never called people back. Yet after a while every storefront, window, courtesy desk, had signs We're Hiring! Yet virtually any store or business you go into is shorthanded. You hear "people don't want to work". So what are they living on? Unemployment benefits and the federal supplements ended almost a year and a half ago.

Call me a conspiracy theorist but I think companies realized they could still do business with a reduced work force. This happened over 30 years ago in the corporate world. Jobs were eliminated, the remaining employees were now expected to forgo their comp time (usually the new policy was "we don't have comp time"), we were expected to put in no less than 45-50 hours/week. My own former company, for example, eliminated my job but not the work. What I did was parceled out to at least several other people, with their workloads increasing. The company saved my salary, which was at the top of the scale after 23 years, saved my insurance premiums which were going up because of my age. They saved my four weeks vacation time ... almost $8,000 a year for no work in that time.

Oh sure, there is a new employee here and there. It looks good. When I went back to Macy*s before Christmas, I was about the only person hired all through the Christmas rush. And there were a lot of customers. But I have to wonder why businesses are so shorthanded, yet they say they're hiring. Not to mention that they send you to online application sites that go around in circles. They ask what year you graduated high school. That's illegal because they're actually asking for your age. If you try to skip that field you cannot proceed. I've submitted my resumè to Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinedIn, and others. I do the online applications. I get "offers" that have absolutely nothing to do with my background.

So what is going on?
I am currently hiring research fellows and post-doctoral fellows....
But currently the economy is about to slide under. So I believe there is a hiring freeze in many companies.
Global recession warning as World Bank cuts economic forecast
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
It's the same in software, at least in Europe. As people can sue for defamation if a rejection is badly worded, employers often skip that step.
And, as you yourself have mentioned, the software industry is one of those which put out openings for PR reasons without really hiring. You wouldn't get a "just kidding" reply from them.

Is it hard to find a job at all in software, or is this just something only a few companies do?
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
Is it hard to find a job at all in software, or is this just something only a few companies do?
My own experience and that of my friends is not indicative enough to say for sure but it is a long way from the times when mentioning you can program got you multiple job offerings.
And employers are less likely to let you train on the job. You have to be proficient in the language, OS and tools they are using so that you are productive from day one.
That is one of the main obstacles in software. Hiring decisions are done by HR who usually have no idea what the project managers are really looking for and would approve of.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Call me a conspiracy theorist but I think companies realized they could still do business with a reduced work force.
It's not a conspiracy if companies down-size their workforce.
But there is indeed a labor shortage around here.
Example:
Contractor friend has been looking for an additional carpenter
for a couple years. No luck yet. Lumberjack friends shut
down their company because they couldn't even get enuf of
the workers they had to show up (about 50% were willing to
work during Covid. It was outdoor work, & safe from the plague.)
Our local Meijer can't find enuf cashiers, so many registers
are unused.
How could this be some orchestrated conspiracy?
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
It's not a conspiracy if companies down-size their workforce.
But there is indeed a labor shortage around here.
Example:
Contractor friend has been looking for an additional carpenter
for a couple years. No luck yet. Lumberjack friends shut
down their company because they couldn't even get enuf of
the workers they had to show up (about 50% were willing to
work during Covid. It was outdoor work, & safe from the plague.)
Our local Meijer can't find enuf cashiers, so many registers
are unused.
How could this be some orchestrated conspiracy?
If workers are really so hard to get, we'll expect salaries to go up substantially according to economic theory. Supply and demand. Did and do salaries go up? If not, either the theory is broken or the premise is false.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
If workers are really so hard to get, we'll expect salaries to go up substantially according to economic theory. Supply and demand. Did and do salaries go up? If not, either the theory is broken or the premise is false.
Pay has indeed increased for many jobs.
$65/hour for a skilled carpenter, yet no takers.
I speculate that one problem is older skilled
workers retiring, thereby putting pressure on
the market that young'ns can't fulfill.

But remember that economic responses have
have phase lag, so increases don't follow demand
instantly or proportionately as a function of time.
 
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Heyo

Veteran Member
Pay has indeed increased for many jobs.
$65/hour for a skilled carpenter, yet no takers.

But remember that economic responses have
have phase lag, so increases don't follow demand
instantly or proportionately as a function of time.
Some industries are moaning the lack of skilled and willing workers since forever. I'm pretty sure we can rule those as faking their openings. With others we'll have to wait and see.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Some industries are moaning the lack of skilled and willing workers since forever. I'm pretty sure we can rule those as faking their openings. With others we'll have to wait and see.
Why would a company want to fake job availability?
It costs a lot of money to deal with open jobs.
(Daughter once did recruiting.) Very expensive arm
of a company. And it demands much time from
workers who aren't in recruiting to vet the applicants.
And there's no benefit from pretending to want new
hires. So the claim makes no sense.
But I know....conspiracy theories are popular. So the
boogeyman is a massive cabal of businesses
plotting a PR campaign to pretend a labor shortage.

Sometimes, people who can't find work should look
in the mirror, instead of blaming businesses.
To get hired & stay hired, one must be productive.
Many people just aren't. I've regretfully hired
some of those over the years.
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
It costs a lot of money to deal with open jobs.
If they are really open. If you aren't going to hire anyway, it costs almost nothing.
And there's no benefit from pretending to want new
hires.
@Debater Slayer listed the benefits. Appearance to be expanding, up&coming to impress (potential) stockholders and customers, building databases for future use, etc.
Also, business people always have to complain and complaining about employees or the lack thereof is as old as business.
But I know....conspiracy theories are popular. So the
boogeyman is a massive cabal of businesses
plotting a PR campaign to pretend a labor shortage.
You don't need a conspiracy theory. Just an understanding of business sense.
 
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