CNN Money says there aren't any skilled workers in Northeast Indiana

[salvorhardin]

CJR's Ryan Chittum busts the myth and the associated talking points once again.

The headline reads “Northeast Indiana: Hundreds of factory jobs go unfilled.” There’s the counterintuitive top that talks about how even in a recession with high unemployment, manufacturers can’t fill their openings.

Then there’s the head of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s workforce development program—these types of sources are almost always in these stories and they’re often the flacks behind them—who talks about all the druggies and welfare bums filling out applications:

“Applicants are failing drug tests,” she said. “Some apply and then decide they want to wait until their unemployment benefit runs out before taking a factory job.”

That quote gets at a big hole in this story: There’s zero discussion of what kind of wages these supposedly unfillable jobs actually pay. Indiana unemployment benefits top out at $390 a week (pre-tax), and they only last six months. That’s the equivalent of a less-than-$10-an-hour job. In other words, if lots people are sitting home on the dole rather than taking jobs, as the Chamber of Commerce would have us believe, these manufacturing jobs probably aren’t paying that much more.

Full post: http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/cnnmoney_cant_find_the_workers.php?page=all

[2pooped2pop]

1. you are right

I wish they would name where these jobs are. I know people who would like one. But many manufacturing jobs not only pay low wages but have a very high turnover and has weird shifts and hours. Some make you rotate first second and third shifts on 12 hr workdays. That doesn't work well with parents who have to try to find that kind of childcare hours.

As for drug testing,,,y bother? These tests can only catch the pot users who are not a threat to your business. The crack, coke and meth users can pass the test easily. It's only pot that stays in your system for long periods. They use it to deny workers comp. If you have an accident on the job, u r drug tested. Yes, it's true that joint that you smoked 4 weeks ago is what caused the accident today. It has nothing to do with the employers lack of safety standards.

as for the unemployment issue-it is true that some wait for the unemployment to run out. Why? Because they are collecting about 150.00 a week. They will only collect about 200 a week at these low paying jobs. Now deduct, gas, lunches, and child care and you are going to make less while working 40 hours a week and being away from your kids. Only an idiot would take a nothing job (no career, no advancement) over continuing their search and staying on unemployment. In fact, the law is that they don't have to take a less paying job. So if these jobs paid even 9.00 and hour, they would be filled even by the people on unemployment.