SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
A quarter-century ago, there were 56 teenagers in the labor force for every "limited service" restaurant — that is, the kind where you order at the counter.
Today, there are fewer than half as many, which is a reflection both of teenagers' decreasing work force participation and of the explosive growth in restaurants.
But in an industry where cheap labor is an essential component in providing inexpensive food, a shortage of workers is changing the equation upon which fast-food places have long relied. This can be seen in rising wages, in a growth of incentives, and in the sometimes odd situations that business owners find themselves in.
Too many restaurants, not enough teens to work in them.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
A Fast-Food Problem: Where Have All the Teenagers Gone?
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 100 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Logicians have but ill defined
As rational the human kind.
Logic, they say, belongs to man,
But let them prove it if they can.
-- Oliver Goldsmith
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @10:19PM
relabel this as where has my 'cheap' labor gone.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2018/05/16/the-great-bakken-oil-rebound/ [forbes.com]
If there was an actual shortage wages would rise to draw people in. When that oil boom went bust guess what happened to the mc'ds jobs?
I can see many here have not been 'in the mix' for a bit with these jobs. They ask for references and 'we will call you' attitude, some even do credit checks.
Unemployment is currently low. But participation is also low. Meaning wages will have to go up if they want to 'fill these jobs'. That you don't says everything you need to know, they do not have to. So you see articles like this to get people spun up that something has changed. That economics do not exist. "This time is different" like every other time. Server tipped wages are still 2.13 an hour. Have been since 1992 min was about 3.50. These companies are addicted to basically 'cheap/free' labor. Want to know who wins out of this? The landlords and owners of the brands. They can charge higher rates. It is all connected.