Dod101 wrote:A lot of people seem to have no concern about the cost of living at the moment or it would seem the future.
Why would the cost of living increases concern a lot of people?
Sure the rises in prices of food and energy will be terrifying to a sizeable group of people on very low incomes or relying on state benefits, and will be concerning to a larger group of people on low to middling incomes, but to a vast number of people those increases will be annoying rather than life changing.
servodude wrote:I know from family that hospitality are finding it difficult to run at normal capacity because of staffing issues - there appears to be a shortage of the seasonal workers that the sector relied on (local youngsters though have a good choice of casual jobs - so that's swings and roundabouts)
Aside from the 'B' issue limiting overseas workers, this is an interesting side-effect of the minimum wage.
Whilst waiting for my wife recently I was stood outside a regional development office that had a signboard outside advertising local jobs, and every job whether it was a shop assistant, receptionist, bar staff, waiters, cleaners, and even more responsible and skilled jobs such as fast food chefs, was being advertised at the minimum wage or only a few pence over it. The only higher paid jobs were sales jobs with commission such as sales staff in kitchen showrooms.
If there is a surplus of jobs compared to the workers, so those looking have their pick and choice, and all the jobs are priced at the same rate then most looking for a seasonal casual job will simply take the job that involves the least effort, the most pleasant working environment, and the most convenient working hours.
Why work in a bar or restaurant on evenings and weekends and rushing around dealing with difficult customers, when you can be a faceless employee sat on the till at the supermarket of a mega-corporation earning the same amount of money - the answer used to be tips for waiters, but with card payments, not so much a thing these days.