And Still Growing….

| December 3, 2018

Americans quitting jobs at higher rates is a sign of a strong, growing economy. It may not sound like it, but if people are quitting one job to move to something better, and/or get a better offer than where they are now, it is accompanied by an increase up to 3.5% in wages this year.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-continue-quit-jobs-droves-233210503.html

From the article: “if you track non-supervisory wage growth alongside the quits rate in the food services business, you get a pretty good sense of where wages are going — up. In October, average hourly earnings for all employees rose 3.1% and for non-supervisory workers wages rose 3.2% over last year. These were the highest readings since the spring of 2009, when wages were on the way down as the post-crisis recession deepened.”

So the guy who is slapping beef on the grill at Burger King while he’s in cooking school at a local college or trade school, with dreams of opening his own burger and hot dog joint, quits because he got a better offer and can still go to school.

Hey, there’s a local Dog ‘n’ Suds for sale not too far from where I live, if anyone is interested. The owner wants to retire and the people who work there stay there. It’s one of the few left from the old-timey drive-in where you ate hot dogs and fries in your car with a tray hung on the window. If they ever bring back drive-in movies, someone please let me know?

But that’s not all. Despite the need to obscure the message in doublespeak like Yellin used to do, Fed Chairman Powell’s speech at the Economic Club of New York last week indicates that “interest rates are just below” the level that is neutral for the economy.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/powells-comments-mattered-week-205435592.html

This inferred to investors that there is a possibly less aggressive path for interest rate hikes next year. Does this matter to you? Yes, it does. Look at the interest rate charged on your credit card bill. If you keep the old ones, go back a few years and look at those rates. They’ve creeped up somewhat in a sneaky way.

Obviously, over time, things can change. We’re in a stable growth period now and we need to stay there. If economic growth now is stable enough for people to change jobs with confidence, we want it to stay that way.

Category: Economy

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5th/77th FA

It’s good to see all that ground work that oblowme did during his 8 years come to such a blooming success. /s/

Tired of winning yet? Companies screaming for help down here. Pick a job description, somebody is hiring. Problem is finding qualified, willing to actually work, employees. Many young’uns don’t know how to handle basic hand tools. Plenty of open slots at the Vo-Tech schools, with paid tuition, going unfilled. Car dealers, HVAC, plumbing companies, utility companies offering to pay tuition, provide tools, and a guarantee of employment for workers. Same with the medical field.

If we can keep the White House in 2020, and do away with the do nothing but tax and spend congress critters, there may be hope for the future.

5th/77th FA

A number of cooking schools are having problems finding instructors. Like every other business, the applicants are lacking the basic skills needed to just get started. Restaurants owner was telling me awhile back, folks wanting to be chefs can’t even boil water, literally. He has multiple locations, short of staff and wants to add locations. Is a good chef’s school here, waiting list for lack of instructors. Go figure.

5th/77th FA

“…what could go wrong with that?” I don’t have a plate of it, that’s what could go wrong with that! Had to settle for some pusgetti I’d been percurlating most of the day, with the angel hair pasta and some garlic buttered cheese bread. Wasn’t hardly fit to eat, only choked it down so the dogs and cats wouldn’t get sick.

It goes back to basics on it all & Mommy not letting the kids learn. Simple things like reading recipes, measurements, temperature adjustments ect.

Mama made sure all her kids were handy around the stove from the time we were tall enough to reach it. It’s come in handy more than once and awhile.

5th/77th FA

Sad isn’t it. My little girl (38) is squared away. A lot of her soccer mom pals; not so much. The pals do a lot of takes out and eat out. Many are double high income/inherited $. Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, daughter & SnL hosted the dinner and several parties. A lot of the “brought” stuff was “bought” stuff.

Concerned it will only get worse.

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

Ex; Do the girl servers roll out on roller skates wearing pony tails and short skirts at that drive in you mentioned?

desert

Nothing wrong with being an electrician! A whole business in a van, nice neat and tidy, clean, seldom any dirty work…good money….nope, not a thing wrong with being an electrician (and besides, you can trade your expertise to ALL the other trades if you need something done!) 😉

Comm Center Rat

As a Syracuse University graduate decades removed, I regularly receive alumni magazines and solicitations for donations. The current undergraduate tuition rate at SU is $50,230 per academic year. The total annual cost of attendance (including room & board, etc.) is estimated at $72,366. Although many Syracuse students probably receive some financial aid to reduce the overall cost, the price tag is still too high for most families without incurring massive debt levels.

The lesson to be learned is never associate the cost of a university with the quality of education it provides. The corollary is never expect your debt laden academic degree to produce a return on investment sufficient to generate a financially viable livelihood.

Parents teach your children well and encourage them to become tradesmen with skills in demand. America needs plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and mechanics more than we do Queer Studies majors.

desert

Most haven’t a clue how to read a tape measure!

A Proud Infidel®™

Not just Tech Schools, other entities are hiring on internships. Power Company Linemen are one example, a young man could hire on and still get paid good money while learning the trade and upon graduating from it debt-free they’re debt-free and in demand!

5th/77th FA

^word^ Georgia Power and every EMC, Telecom, and CATV Contractor are screaming bloody murder for line men. Journeymen are pulling down minimums of $38-45.00 an hour, plus bennies and all the OT they can handle. I’m on medical leave right now, old enough, but don’t want to retire yet. I like the work and the $s are awesome, may not have a choice. Within in just a year or so 65 +-% of the utility companies’ employees will be eligible for retirement. We can’t find replacements.

A Proud Infidel®™

You’re absolutely right, job slots for Linemen are going to be many due to turnover from retirements, ditto with Railroad Jobs!

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

API; With a railroad job, one is really starting on the right track.

SFC D

Tower companies always have a high demand for climbers. Great money, but it’s life on the road. Not for everybody.

HMC Ret

Daughter, 41, was a veterinary medicine tech for years. She more or less ‘liked’ the job, but there was absolutely no future, plus the pay sucked. Think entry leave McDonalds with people will to work for low wages b/c they liked animals. I convinced her to get into nursing, probably b/c I have a medical background and know there is a great future in medicine. She’s been an RN now for about ten years. Pay is great but many patients suck. They have entitled mentality thinking they are the only ones she has to care for.

Comm Center Rat

HMC tell your daughter this joke to brighten her day:

A nurse finds a rectal thermometer in her pocket and immediately thinks some asshole stole my pen.

HMC Ret

The economy is doing so well under President Trump that Oblowme is thinking of applying for citizenship.

26Limabeans

And lets not forget the whopping 2.8% raise we old farts just got. That’s like a couple bottles of cheap whiskey a month. Yeeha.

HMC Ret

That’s a nice COLA. Beats the ZERO % we got a few years back. Makes this old fart very content.

26Llimabeans

And this year it is not all eaten up by deductible and premium increases like last year.

OWB

If that is on Social Security, I am soooo grateful. It will really add a nice little something to the $48 I get from them each month…

Green Thumb

I thought I saw AJ Dickens and Bunny-boi working the local drive thru.

I could be wrong, though….