Demographics: How worker shortages are affecting everyone
A good Bloomberg article on the labor shortage, the demographic problem shrinking our labor pool, and the reality of what will probably be done.
Business: Businesses pushing “premiumization” to squeeze more from customers
They are doing a mix of practices attempting to persuade you that their products or services are a “premium” offering to which you should pay more. Airlines did this by…
Demographics: Percent of teens who work at jobs
If possible, I recommend most teens avoid jobs while going to school. Teens are better off investing in their education – it makes little sense to spend hours at minimum…
What’s old is new again: “Working Weekends is New Normal For Tech Layoff Survivors”
Back in the 1980s, tech companies promoted something called “flex time” – meaning you could, allegedly, set your own start and end time each day. Come in late but then…
Demographics: Within a few years, 1 in 3 Canadian residents will be immigrants
All told, the above-outlined reasons for immigration growth have created a country where immigrants make up 23% of Canada’s total population (as of 2021). What’s more is that this number…
Demographics, Economy: “We’re Getting Older, and the Labor Market Shows It” says the Fed
Looks like they have noticed the problem: An aging population is a big reason for the worker shortage that’s helped fuel inflation over the past 18 months. Analysis by Atlanta…
Automation: Carl’s Jr turns to automated systems
Source: ‘They asked for 20$ an hour and Carl’s Jr said bet’: Carl’s Jr. customer orders meal via A.I. assistant in drive-thru
Automation: Lots of automation showing up in restaurants
The $15 minimum wage, now $20 per hour demands, has led to the inevitable acceleration of restaurant automation. Also, the bizarre “tipping culture” we now have in the U.S. might…
Musk was right: Many tech companies slashing bloated middle management layers
Elon Musk took much heat for gutting Twitter last fall. But as some suggested, if that worked for him, you could expect every tech CEO was looking at what he…
Demographics: Unemployment hits 53 year low
Source: Jobs report January 2023: Payrolls increased by 517,000, unemployment rate at 53-year low Reminder – the new entrant cohort to the population pyramid is shrinking, while the top end…