According to a new report from ABQ Biz First, 10,000 people applied for 300 positions at the City’s new Cheesecake Factory. This is the kind of statistic that screams for interpretation and there are a slew of them:
1) The obvious bad news (we already knew this) is that Albuquerque’s economy is in the tank and that competition for low-wage, low-skilled positions is really tough. Approximately 9,700 people applied for but were rejected from cooking, waiting tables, and greeting people at a restaurant.
2) The good thing is that lots of people still want to work and find jobs even at low pay. This speaks to the fact that despite all the obstacles to work and government handouts, a lot of people still want to work, they just can’t find a job.
3) If they care about these working class people who want to work, but can’t find it, our city and state leaders should allow more of those people to work by eliminating arbitrary wage floors.
4) We know “right to work” states generate jobs more readily than “forced unionism” states. Liberal opponents of “right to work” claim that wages are reduced in such states. There is plenty of research to the contrary, but New Mexicans need jobs and they need them now. Hundreds of people in the State’s largest City were TURNED DOWN work at a restaurant!
5) The “happy talk” about the local economy should cease until relatively low-wage businesses like restaurants actually have to compete for workers rather than having 10,000 to choose from.
Paul, while I agree with many of your findings, I want to remind you and your readers that not all restaurant jobs are low wage. Yes, restaurants give 1/3 of Americans their first job but many find restaurants a great life-long career. We offer flexible scheduling and lucrative part time work for those who need it. I genuinely appreciate your work just want to set the record straight.
Fair enough Carol. I figured I might hear from you on this. Certainly some of the jobs are high-wage and I know from experience that waiting tables can be lucrative. It is just an indicator of the challenges faced in the local economy. Thanks for setting me straight!
As usual, you’re right on the money, Paul. In one of my fantasies, I have Governor Martinez suing the Feds to eliminate Federal minimum wage laws because of the “disparate impact” they have on the employment in poor states like NM.
Then, we redefine the minimum wage as that level below which NO deductions are taken from the paycheck, e.g. no SS, no unemployment tax, etc. You work for five bucks an hour, that’s what you get.
I have other fantasies, too, just as unlikely but far more entertaining ;~)
The idea of suing the feds for disparate impact on the minimum wage is a good one, but it would help if our own policymakers in Santa Fe and in several cities around the State weren’t inflicting mandated wages on our citizens who so clearly are willing to work even at relatively low-wage jobs.
Liberals and too many of our political leaders would rather keep those people on the dole.
The fact that 10,000 applied is refreshing. I own a feed store and have had no success in finding people who want to work loading 50 lb bags and hay. This has been most distressing. I couldn’t even attract veterans.
I did a job like that for a summer back in college where I lifted 40-50lb boxes of files all day to move an insurance company from one building to another. I agree with you that ultimately there are jobs available, but most would rather receive government benefits than do hard manual labor. Another comment from someone who worked in the nursing home industry indicated that it was impossible to find people to work in those jobs. Changing bed pans, lifting 50 lb bales of hay, or picking fruits and veggies in the fields for relatively low wages are simply not jobs most Americans will do given the alternative of sitting on their ass.
Hi Michael, if you are needing some workers please provide a address or phone number i do know of someone.
I guess all the new jobs being created by the New Energy Economy people are not quite shovel ready!!!!
The reason for so many people who applied for so few jobs is expressed by this very example. Our political leaders who campaigned so diligently to exact our vote with the promise of job opportunity has failed, once again, miserably. 10,000 people for a crappy job that’s hiring 300? Are you kidding me? This shows the desperation of the cities’ underemployed/unemployed. All this does is create employers with tons of applicants; who will treat their employees with abandon; who will fire at will for the slightest infraction or complaint; and who wield the power of paying the lowest the market will bear – in this case – the absolute lowest. These kind of applicant numbers would typically be reserved for Teamster Union jobs, such as Longshoreman’s Union or for General Motors or Ford factories, with REAL pay and benefits and pensions. Cheesecake Factory? What a tragic joke. Show us the REAL jobs. Bring in electric cars; wind energy; solar factories. Quit sticking the public with “cookie cutter” bullshit retail food outlets. We can’t pay our bills on their pay!!!
Electric cars, solar energy, and the type of jobs you are referring to all require heavy subsidies from both federal and state taxpayers. You may not like Cheesecake Factory, but at least they aren’t looking for government handouts.
I thought unemployment benefits only last 6 months nowadays. In that case, maybe these individuals have run out of benefits and are needing work–not just that they want to work. I’d be happy if it were the latter.
Perhaps. That is an interesting point.