Claims of a Labor Shortage Are Just Not True`

Townhall.com ^ | October 20, 2019 | Bob Harden

[oincobx]

>>>the reality is that the single biggest factor in the declining LFPR over the last couple of decades has been the massive growth of RETIREES.

So essentially what we need is something to convince the stay at home moms and retirees to get back into the workforce.

[Alberta's Child]

Why do “we” need to convince them of anything?

Why don’t we just leave them the hell alone and let them make their own decisions about where they work, what jobs they’ll take, or whether they’ll work for an employer at all?

[MinorityRepublican]

I sure as heck wouldn't hire a leftist.

I would hire an immigrant before a leftist.

[PeterPrinciple]

A recent bill from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) would mandate all businesses use a free, online system called E-Verify, which determines an individual’s work eligibility in mere seconds.

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A good idea until we think about it. Another law that will eventually be used against us but...........................

Our govt will eventually change this by redefining words to make it ineffective.

[taxcontrol]

Shortage of labor - no
Shortage of SKILLS - yes

If you are looking either for a career or just starting in the job market, look into cyber security. Estimate of 300,000 jobs will go unfilled in 2019.

[SeekAndFind]

RETIREES should not be included in the Labor Force Participation figures. neither should students between 18 to 22 who are in college.

If they are, then the figures are misleading.

[Alberta's Child]

That's why I said the statistic is so misleading.

I've pretty much ignored it at all times, even when it is used (successfully) by a candidate like Donald Trump when carrying a populist message to voters.

[RipSawyer]

If the market rate for something is 10, and you artifically raise a price to 15, you will get less of it.

Actually if you are the seller and you raise the price you will SELL less of it. If the buyer raised the price he would “get” MORE of it.

[RipSawyer]

“...but the reality is that the single biggest factor in the declining LFPR over the last couple of decades has been the massive growth of RETIREES.”

I object, I am a retiree and I have lost forty pounds since retiring.

[central_va]

Look at the blessed data.

Low skilled unemployment is not affected by the minimum wage. The minimum wage is always decreasing day be day because of inflation.

[central_va]

You are not looking at correctly. Look at the graph below. The unemployment rate for low skilled workers( 16 - 24 Y.O.) remains constant throughout history since 1950.

[exDemMom]

Your chart shows an unemployment ratio, not a rate. Thus, it is not helpful at all when trying to determine what is the actual effect of the minimum wage on jobs. Although it shows some burbling around, the fact that it is a ratio dampens greatly the fluctuations of the unemployment rate, making it look like minor bumps around a steady background.

In fact, the chart looks like one of those examples of economics revisionism that I referred to previously.

What are the actual raw numbers for that chart? What are the unemployment rates of young people, older people, and overall? And how is the unemployment rate calculated?