Author Topic: Wage Inflation In Lakewood (Read 17077 times)

Mordyk · « **Reply #40 on:** May 21, 2021, 04:37:53 PM »

Quote from: S209 on May 21, 2021, 04:34:07 PM

I’m not understanding, are you saying for the right price workers wouldn’t come? For 100K you won’t get workers?

The unemployment program might have accomplished what a minimum wage hike would have in a more organic fashion. Time will tell. And time will tell if it’s a good thing or bad thing.

In talking about more entry level. Not tier two

yuneeq · « **Reply #41 on:** May 21, 2021, 05:07:10 PM »

For many positions I’m hiring either talent doesn’t exist in Lakewood area or is very limited. At best I may be able to poach from another company but I don’t believe in that. Recently tried hiring for upper level marketing, got rejected by a candidate, despite offering more than asking, and the candidate was not fully qualified and only part time. At least 4 other companies gave offers as well. A bunch of my hires are from out of state and relocate because there’s no other options.

yesitsme · « **Reply #42 on:** May 21, 2021, 05:44:19 PM »

How many people travel an hour+ away from lakewoodfor work? There are plenty, either lakewood pays less or there is a lack of communication, otherwise you wouldnt have that many people traveling to work

yuneeq · « **Reply #43 on:** May 21, 2021, 06:26:50 PM »

Quote from: yesitsme on May 21, 2021, 05:44:19 PM

How many people travel an hour+ away from lakewoodfor work? There are plenty, either lakewood pays less or there is a lack of communication, otherwise you wouldnt have that many people traveling to work

From what I’ve seen they travel to jobs that don’t exist in Lakewood. If you’re an investment banker you probably want to work for a Manhattan firm to jumpstart your career. Manhattan is also prestigious, companies can pay more because they also charge a lot more. There are Lakewood people that start their business in Manhattan for that reason. There are only a few well developed industries in Lakewood.

Euclid · « **Reply #44 on:** May 21, 2021, 06:31:18 PM »

Quote from: yesitsme on May 21, 2021, 05:44:19 PM

How many people travel an hour+ away from lakewoodfor work? There are plenty, either lakewood pays less or there is a lack of communication, otherwise you wouldnt have that many people traveling to work

One example, software related jobs don't pay nearly as much in Lakewood as in NYC.

yuneeq · « **Reply #45 on:** May 21, 2021, 06:58:08 PM »

Quote from: Euclid on May 21, 2021, 06:31:18 PM

One example, software related jobs don't pay nearly as much in Lakewood as in NYC.

CMIIW, local companies are paying a living wage in Lakewood for programmers, and there’s of glut of programmers compared to local need. Off the top of my head I can only think of 3 software related businesses. And if the NYC software businesses need to pay an extra 30k to entice people in the suburbs to forgo the quality of life and spend both money and hours to travel each day, is it a fair comparison?

Euclid · « **Reply #46 on:** May 22, 2021, 11:53:56 PM »

Quote from: yuneeq on May 21, 2021, 06:58:08 PM

CMIIW, local companies are paying a living wage in Lakewood for programmers, and there’s a glut of programmers compared to local need. Off the top of my head I can only think of 3 software related businesses.

IMO it's a combination of the 2 factors. Most companies in Lakewood are not tech companies, and therefore software is a cost center for them. Only companies that have software as a profit center will compensate accordingly. (This is a rant for a different time

)

Quote from: yuneeq on May 21, 2021, 06:58:08 PM

And if the NYC software businesses need to pay an extra 30k to entice people in the suburbs to forgo the quality of life and spend both money and hours to travel each day, is it a fair comparison?

I don't believe it has anything to do with the need to entice people to leave the suburbs - I used NYC as an example, but there are plenty of companies outside NYC (e.g. in NJ) that pay just as well. The main function why the compensation is higher is because non-Lakewood companies place greater value on software (either because it's a profit center for them, or because they've realized that the cost is greater than not having a proper software team. Again, this is all part of a rant for a different time...)

yzj · « **Reply #47 on:** May 23, 2021, 12:03:28 AM »

In my experience many local companies tend to value and sometimes overly compensate the employees in the job capacities that generate cash flow at the expense of other employees who actually provide tremendous value to the company that just doesn’t show up on the headline numbers.

Euclid · « **Reply #48 on:** May 23, 2021, 12:06:56 AM »

Quote from: yzj on May 23, 2021, 12:03:28 AM

In my experience many local companies tend to value and sometimes overly compensate the employees in the job capacities that generate cash flow at the expense of other employees who actually provide tremendous value to the company that just doesn’t show up on the headline numbers.

I wonder if this has something to do with that many of the business owners in Lakewood don't have a formal business education.

YitzyS · « **Reply #49 on:** May 23, 2021, 04:13:50 AM »

Quote from: yuneeq on May 21, 2021, 06:58:08 PM

in Lakewood for programmers

Being a programmer in Lakewood is a very lucrative occupation. There's Jersey Care, Food Stamps, HUD, WIC, and many others.

yzj · « **Reply #50 on:** May 23, 2021, 08:12:28 AM »

Quote from: Euclid on May 23, 2021, 12:06:56 AM

I wonder if this has something to do with that many of the business owners in Lakewood don't have a formal business education.

There may be s as human nature component as well. Even when it comes to more formal companies it’s easier to spend money on a cash cow that on R&D even when the latter is virtually assured of bring in more returns in the long run. Same with the board of a non profit. you'll have an easier time justifying compensation for fundraising than for customer service or risk mitigation.

YesThatsMe · « **Reply #51 on:** May 23, 2021, 08:34:25 AM »

You guys are totally over-complicating this. This thread directly ties into the unemployment help thread.

The absolute minimum Lakewood unemployment payment is $531 weekly. Every single woman and girl worth their salt is able to draw this weekly. We know of higher amounts, but let’s use this as our baseline.

Now, in hourly wages, this translates into $24.14 hourly for the woman working the standard 22 hour part time Lakewood week. And it’s worth more than wages as there are no SS/Medi taxes, and the first $10,200 may even be tax free similar to 2020. And this is for doing absolutely nothing. You’d need to pay substantially more to get someone to actually work.

Of course, this means a part time worker with these hours now needs at least $35 an hour to justify being in the workforce. Of course no one is paying that. So, that takes a huge chunk of workers off the table, and leaves a shortage of labor, including women who had jobs pre COVID and aren’t going back. Even the girls and women who will/can commit to a 40 hour week (which at $24.14 an hour is $965) are now a highly sought after commodity. So wages go up.

Of course, this will all come to a screeching halt once these benefits end, whenever that is. After all, those earning $531 a week + will still need to feed their children, reenter the workforce, and the increased supply will meet (if not exceed) the demand.

yuneeq · « **Reply #52 on:** May 23, 2021, 09:13:40 AM »

Quote from: Euclid on May 22, 2021, 11:53:56 PM

IMO it's a combination of the 2 factors. Most companies in Lakewood are not tech companies, and therefore software is a cost center for them. Only companies that have software as a profit center will compensate accordingly. (This is a rant for a different time )

If you think about it, it makes sense. Profit driven programming has potential to earn a company many, many times more than the salary paid, while efficiency driven programming has a much lower and defined limit of potential benefit.

Quote from: yzj on May 23, 2021, 08:12:28 AM

There may be s as human nature component as well. Even when it comes to more formal companies it’s easier to spend money on a cash cow that on R&D even when the latter is virtually assured of bring in more returns in the long run. Same with the board of a non profit. you'll have an easier time justifying compensation for fundraising than for customer service or risk mitigation.

Profit driven programming would probably fall under R&D, so it makes sense to me to overvalue R&D relatively.

Quote from: Euclid on May 23, 2021, 12:06:56 AM

I wonder if this has something to do with that many of the business owners in Lakewood don't have a formal business education.

From searching online it seems most businesses don't know how to value employees properly, eg. standardized performance reviews that fail to measure employees individually, and push employees towards producing measurable results even if it causes them to become less productive.

Quote from: YesThatsMe on May 23, 2021, 08:34:25 AM

You guys are totally over-complicating this. This thread directly ties into the unemployment help thread.

Thanks for providing some real numbers

yzj · « **Reply #53 on:** May 23, 2021, 12:48:41 PM »

Quote from: YesThatsMe on May 23, 2021, 08:34:25 AM

You guys are totally over-complicating this. This thread directly ties into the unemployment help thread.

The absolute minimum Lakewood unemployment payment is $531 weekly. Every single woman and girl worth their salt is able to draw this weekly. We know of higher amounts, but let’s use this as our baseline.

Now, in hourly wages, this translates into $24.14 hourly for the woman working the standard 22 hour part time Lakewood week. And it’s worth more than wages as there are no SS/Medi taxes, and the first $10,200 may even be tax free similar to 2020. And this is for doing absolutely nothing. You’d need to pay substantially more to get someone to actually work.

Of course, this means a part time worker with these hours now needs at least $35 an hour to justify being in the workforce. Of course no one is paying that. So, that takes a huge chunk of workers off the table, and leaves a shortage of labor, including women who had jobs pre COVID and aren’t going back. Even the girls and women who will/can commit to a 40 hour week (which at $24.14 an hour is $965) are now a highly sought after commodity. So wages go up.

Of course, this will all come to a screeching halt once these benefits end, whenever that is. After all, those earning $531 a week + will still need to feed their children, reenter the workforce, and the increased supply will meet (if not exceed) the demand.

Wages were already going up substantially in Lakewood for entry level women prior to Covid, though there’s no question the factors you mentioned added fuel to the fire and then some.

S209 · « **Reply #54 on:** May 23, 2021, 02:35:19 PM »

Quote from: YesThatsMe on May 23, 2021, 08:34:25 AM

You guys are totally over-complicating this. This thread directly ties into the unemployment help thread.

The absolute minimum Lakewood unemployment payment is $531 weekly. Every single woman and girl worth their salt is able to draw this weekly. We know of higher amounts, but let’s use this as our baseline.

Now, in hourly wages, this translates into $24.14 hourly for the woman working the standard 22 hour part time Lakewood week. And it’s worth more than wages as there are no SS/Medi taxes, and the first $10,200 may even be tax free similar to 2020. And this is for doing absolutely nothing. You’d need to pay substantially more to get someone to actually work.

Of course, this means a part time worker with these hours now needs at least $35 an hour to justify being in the workforce. Of course no one is paying that. So, that takes a huge chunk of workers off the table, and leaves a shortage of labor, including women who had jobs pre COVID and aren’t going back. Even the girls and women who will/can commit to a 40 hour week (which at $24.14 an hour is $965) are now a highly sought after commodity. So wages go up.

Of course, this will all come to a screeching halt once these benefits end, whenever that is. After all, those earning $531 a week + will still need to feed their children, reenter the workforce, and the increased supply will meet (if not exceed) the demand.

Quote from: S209 on May 21, 2021, 04:34:07 PM

The unemployment program might have accomplished what a minimum wage hike would have in a more organic fashion. Time will tell. And time will tell if it’s a good thing or bad thing.