Why Getting A JOB Feels IMPOSSIBLE in 2025

Around $3.88 per hour. That's what American workers earned on average in 1972. Now in 2023, these same workers earn around $27.45 per hour. Minimum wage on January 1st, it will go from $14.49 an hour to $15.74 an hour. That's an increase of $1.25. These figures might give the impression that wages in America have risen significantly in recent years. However, when we take inflation into account, wages have remained practically identical over the last 50 years, with today's workers earning only 12 cents more than in 1972. More workers are rejecting the federal minimum wage. That's according to an article from the New York Times, which found the federal wage floor of $7.25 is becoming increasingly irrelevant. But with inflation at its highest since 1981, Americans feel the impact of slow wage growth. Petrol and housing costs in the U.S. have also jumped dramatically in recent weeks, forcing millions of families to make tough choices. Moreover, two-thirds of American workers claim that inflation outpaced any salary increases in the last year. So why aren't American workers paid enough, and what can be done about it? Wages in the United States have stagnated since the early 1970s, but it was in 1979 when the gap between workers' productivity and their wages began to substantially increase. Between 1979 and 2023, workers' wages grew by 17.5 percent, while productivity grew more than three times faster, at 61.8 percent. In other words, today's workers are 61.8 percent more efficient than workers 50 years ago, yet they earn only a few cents more than back then. People in Kentucky are struggling to make ends meet, and it has nothing to do with their employment status. Wage stagnation is worse for low- and middle-income workers, as the bottom 90 percent of American workers saw their annual wages increase by only 28.2 percent from 1979 to 2023, while the top 1 percent saw a 179.3 percent increase in wages. Meanwhile, the top 0.1 percent experienced a staggering 389.1 percent growth. This means that the gap between the rich and the poor has widened over the last 50 years. Growing gap between rich and poor Americans is one of the biggest challenges facing the country. Get this, the richest 1 percent controls more wealth now than at any time in more than a half century. Real wages, adjusted for inflation, haven't changed much since the late 1970s. However, inequality increased during most of this period. In 2019, during the disruption in the U.S. labor market caused by the pandemic, there were surprising wage increases in various industries. In fact, there was a significant acceleration in wage growth of around 16 percent, especially for low-wage workers. This was due to a labor market shortage caused by excessive demand in the United States, immigration restrictions, early retirements, and, of course, illnesses or fatalities. There is a shortage of skilled tradespeople throughout the U.S. economy, a persistent problem that started well before the pandemic. Automation is another explanation for wage stagnation in the United States. The McKinsey Global Institute predicts that 45.3 million workers will lose their jobs due to technological advances by 2030. Automation has been a significant factor so far, especially in manufacturing jobs. For example, in the past, cars were built using machines, but there was a lot of hands-on work. Now, much of that is done with machines, and workers need many more skills to operate them, resulting in the disappearance or underpayment of many routine jobs, as wages in such jobs have decreased by about 12 percent in recent years. There's no question artificial intelligence will remake the workplace. Recent analysis from investment firm Goldman Sachs looked at the global impact and found AI could replace 300 million full-time jobs, including positions in the legal and engineering fields. Over the next two or three decades, many economists believe there will be significant disruption in the labor market due to new automation. Even workers with university education, such as financial assistants and accountants, and even some diagnostic medical roles will be performed by machines with artificial intelligence, posing competition for many Americans. Globalization is another reason for wage stagnation, forcing domestic workers to compete against unfair competition, where workers in many countries are paid much less. BBC investigation found evidence that workers were being exploited. Women at the factory which makes home textiles for the brands said that they were forced to work excessive hours and weren't even allowed toilet breaks. The BBC also heard claims of poor working conditions from staff at an Indian supplier to Ralph Lauren. Economists suggest that labor market dynamics played a more significant role than expected. About 35 percent of American workers today change jobs less frequently than before, although job changes lead to strong net wage growth. While about 43 percent of Americans do not change jobs for the sake of stability, the other 22 percent cannot do so because there is nowhere else to go. In many local markets, companies use the lack of competition to suppress the wages of their workers. About 60 percent of U.S. labor markets are considered highly concentrated, meaning a few employers compete for local workers. Just 10 percent more workers in an area can lead to a 1 percent reduction in wages. In a booming market like ours, just about every industry is looking for high-skill employees who can get into a career quickly right now. Companies can also play a direct role in stifling competition with methods like non-compete agreements. Approximately half of private sector companies in the United States that responded to the EPI survey said at least some of their employees are subject to non-compete agreements, meaning around 36 to 60 million private sector workers in America are subject to these agreements. Similarly, unions that originally fought for higher compensation have drastically lost their power over the years. Union membership in the U.S. dropped from 20 percent of American workers in 1983 to only 10.3 percent in 2023. Workers in unions usually earn higher wages, around 10.2 percent more, compared to similar non-unionized workers, thanks to methods like collective bargaining. It is expensive to live here in California, and a new statewide campaign launched today hopes to help with affordability. It's called Living Wage for All. At issue is California's $15.50 minimum wage. The campaign is pushing for that to go higher. Legislation could help address some of the major issues causing wage stagnation in the United States. However, there is a limit to what can be done through policy when there are significant changes in technology and globalization. But policy can address other aspects, such as non-compete agreements, as these contribute to wage stagnation, as they are often applied to low-skilled jobs. On the other hand, the increase in remote work could also be beneficial for wage growth in local markets, as some employers prefer their employees to work remotely. In a way, remote work reduces the monopoly power of U.S. companies, as talented workers could work for any company worldwide remotely, earning a higher salary. Before COVID, only 23% of professionals worked remotely. Today, 59% are working remotely most or all of the time, as according to data from the Pew Research Center. Achieving a fair wage for all Americans is vital to ensuring the success of the U.S. economy. Similarly, fair wages promote innovation and make the economy productive. Therefore, wages truly reflect the productivity and skills of American workers. So, if wages stagnate for a lot of people, it could be an indicator that productivity in the country is falling, which could affect the economy and all Americans in the future. Near 11.2 million, that was the number of unemployed Americans in 2023. Incredibly, this figure is the lowest in 54 years. Unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1969. 517,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month. That's almost double the number of jobs added the month prior. With an unemployment rate of 3.4% in the United States, it seems the economy is recovering. Indeed, on paper, the job market now is robust, as the employment report from January also showed that the labor market of 2024 had started on a solid note. The state of our union's labor market is strong. In fact, data released by the Concrete data suggests that the job market has been quite solid and, indeed, surprisingly resilient, especially after 2023, where there were mass layoffs and recession forecasts. Layoffs in technology just keep coming. The latest, Google cutting hundreds of jobs. Massive layoffs today, cutting the jobs of at least 115 employees. It's the largest workforce reduction in the paper's 142-year history. Despite economists talking about how well the economy is doing, 12% of ordinary Americans feel that it is very difficult to find a job today. So why does getting a job feel impossible now? And is the American labor market as strong as it seems? On average, full-time unemployed workers applied for an average of 30 jobs, only to receive an average of four responses or calls. In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 55% of unemployed adults said they were burned out from looking for a new job. But the younger generations were the most affected, with 66% complaining of burnout from job searching. Well, one man's quest to find a job is raising questions about the labor shortage right now. He says he applied to more than 60 entry-level positions. Entry-level. But he got one interview, and he's not the only one. According to a quarter of Americans, job searching is a long and tedious process, as a study showed that applying to a job through a job board only has a 3% chance of getting hired, making Americans have to search for many different jobs to increase their chances of being hired. Experts say this is due to the growing use of technology and job platforms, as many more people apply for the same job, and companies cannot read all the applications. Another significant factor is that there has been an increase in the average time it takes a company to hire an employee, reaching a record high of 44 days in the first quarter of 2023, with some industries like the energy and defense sector taking more than 67 days to hire a person. With some companies conducting up to five interviews with multiple rounds and assessments, Americans feel that getting a job today feels almost impossible. And they're right. There is another side to this ongoing labor shortage that may surprise you here. Millions of qualified workers hitting the streets every day searching for jobs, but getting rejected. While there are millions and millions of jobs available, there are millions and millions of Americans who are applying for those jobs, but getting rejection after rejection. Data have shown that the use of excessive interviews and assessments to gauge workers' knowledge is ineffective, as about 40% of workers who applied for a job in the fourth quarter of 2023 ensure that in their interviews, they are not asked about concrete things related to their area of work. Similarly, 27% of employers claim that it is not possible to determine how good or not a candidate is from the first interviews or without first having a trial period of at least a month. Generally, there are two terms economists use to describe the state of the labor market, tight and loose. Typically, when economists talk about a tight labor market, it means it is difficult for employers to find workers, so employers tend to be more reluctant to lay off and offer higher hiring benefits, either by offering bonuses or providing on-the-job training. Conversely, a loose labor market is one in which there may be layoffs and hiring freezes. This is the worst scenario for workers trying to enter the workforce for the first time. It's becoming more and more difficult for young people to enjoy their jobs or even find work that they got an education in. According to several economists, the American labor market is loose. But to understand why, we have to go back to 2019. One out of every seven small businesses, as a result of the virus, have closed permanently. Disney employees learned in a memo tens of thousands of people will lose their jobs. And it's not just the airline workers who will suffer. The effects will ripple throughout the economy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, about 16% of American workers lost their jobs. However, by the end of 2021, as businesses began to recover, employers started hiring at record levels. So with so many job offers with better pay, American workers began to quit their old jobs, causing a phenomenon that came to be known as the Great Resignation. However, the consequences of this resignation trend were not visible until the end of 2023, where several economists point out that the labor market has been cooling since then. COVID-19 is continuing to impact the U.S. labor force. 150,000 tech workers have been laid off in 2022 alone. Amazon today announcing it's going to cut 18,000 workers. According to a new report, it may get worse in the months and years to come. Despite the wave of massive layoffs in the tech sector during 2023, the layoff rate across the entire labor market does not exceed 4% so far in 2024. However, the hiring rate has also been reduced, reaching about 5% in the first months of the year. Several economists point out that this cooling of the labor market could also be caused by employers' uncertainty, as 58% of employers claim to have doubts about expelling workers due to the potential lack of skilled labor. But on the other hand, that also means that many unemployed workers are left without job options to apply to due to the lack of staff turnover in companies. Meanwhile, a LinkedIn research found that the intensity of job search by applicants in the U.S. grew by 27% in 2023 compared to the previous year. According to the data, in 2022, there was one open job for every active applicant on the LinkedIn platform. By 2023, the ratio became one job for every two active applicants. Millions of people are still looking for work, but some employers say they can't find enough skilled workers for certain jobs. Experts assure that the cooling labor market is not a cause for concern yet, as they assure that after the wave of massive hiring that occurred after the pandemic, the current labor market would seem weak. But it is not. Another cause of this stagnation in the labor market are the decisions taken by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation. With measures such as the constant increase in interest rates during 2023, the U.S. economy has been slowing down, and at the same time, so have the markets, being the labor market the largest. From factory floors to farms to Main Street USA, every interest rate hike ripples through the economy. Fed will raise rates by a quarter of a percent as the Fed remains hopeful that inflation will continue to cool off. Experts have pointed out that the health of the labor market is intrinsically linked to the direction the economy takes. A significant slowdown in 2024 or entering into a recession would demonstrate the resilience of the labor market, but it would not allow overlooking the broader economic trends. Although there is some optimism regarding the economy, this does not necessarily mean that job searching becomes an easy process. The current situation is shared by a wide number of Americans, being a reflection of the prevailing circumstances in the economy in general and not an isolated or personal situation. Things like uncertainty, along with the particularities of employers regarding their hiring practices, contributes to the complexity of the labor market landscape, making getting a job today not an easy task for Americans. The first job, an unforgettable experience. When students graduate and aim to secure their dream job, they must meet some basic requirements. But today, these requirements seem increasingly unattainable for Americans. It has long been a given that a four-year college degree is a prerequisite for moving up the economic ladder. But for some, that requirement is having unintended consequences. While the jobs outlook is especially dire for new college graduates, that could have far-reaching implications beyond this year. It's taking longer for graduates to find a job, from five and a half months last year to six months this year. As the majority of the nation experiences a cool-down in the job market, they might have a harder time starting their careers right away. But this also seems to be the right time to ask a tough question. Was it worth all that money, all that hard work? In 2023, 42% of employees felt they were excluded from job opportunities due to a lack of formal qualifications or experience. As the American economy recovers, questions remain about the labor force. With unemployment so low, how come the gig workforce remains so high? Throughout 2022 and 2023, this disparity became more pronounced, resulting in an unprecedented increase in competitiveness in the U.S. labor market. The job market is becoming much more competitive, whether you're looking to get hired or doing the hiring. 79% of people looking for a job say it's become more competitive out there. That's according to a new survey from LinkedIn. This comes even after new claims for jobless benefits fell to their lowest levels. As time progresses, companies show a preference for skills over academic degrees. Indeed, 79% of workers in hiring management positions value skills, experience, and past achievements more than formal credentials and education. So, why do job requirements feel unattainable? And what implications does this have for job seekers and the economy in general? In recent months, the U.S. labor market has experienced a slowdown due to high inflation and the subsequent intervention by the Federal Reserve, which has raised interest rates to moderate economic activity and allow the supply to adjust. This action has resulted in a cooling of the labor market, with a decrease in hiring rates to 3.5% in March 2024, after having reached high levels during and after the pandemic. Employment numbers, they are up back to the pre-pandemic levels. That means Dayton has recovered from that hit it took during the pandemic. Texas and Arizona have joined Utah and Idaho in recovering all the jobs they lost at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the total volume of job offers decreased by more than 15% at the end of 2023 compared to the previous year. The ratio of available jobs per active applicant has also changed significantly, from one job per applicant in 2022 to one job for every two applicants in 2023. This shift indicates a more competitive labor market for job seekers, while employers have the possibility to choose from a larger number of candidates. A survey revealed that 46% of companies plan to increase their hiring in the first half of 2024 because, according to them, their current employees lack the required skills. There is a shortage of skilled tradespeople throughout the U.S. economy. There is a, quote, massive shortage of skilled workers, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Companies are looking for plumbers, for electricians, for carpenters, for auto mechanics, and I'm just naming a few here. And it's really no surprise, because for decades, enrollment in high school vocational arts programs, they've been in decline. Another factor influencing the dynamics of the labor market is the transformation in the hiring process. Recently, a trend has been observed among employers to dispense with the services of recruiters. During the year 2023, there was a notable decline in online job offers for recruiters, with prominent companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon making significant layoffs of recruiters and human resources personnel. Amazon is announcing plans to lay off more than 18,000 workers. The cuts, which are the largest in the company's history, will primarily impact the devices division, retail, and human resources. Traditionally, recruiters played a crucial role in understanding the needs of the labor market and the specific requirements of job positions, often interacting with line managers to adjust expectations about the experience needed for certain roles. Without these professionals, a critical voice that moderated and adapted hiring requirements has been lost, leaving line managers, who generally have no recruitment experience, in a position to determine the necessary qualifications, which can lead to exaggerated expectations, such as the demand for advanced degrees for positions that may not require them. This, coupled with more and more companies joining the technological revolution by using robots as recruiters, has resulted in a lack of understanding between the skills workers can offer and those that robots can identify. Chae Jung Yeo is practicing for a job interview, but when the big day comes, he'll be the only person in the room. He'll turn on a computer at his home, and artificial intelligence will watch and listen to Chae. Companies increasingly use artificial intelligence to help them vet potential new hires. Companies are prioritizing quality over quantity in their hiring processes. 54% of recruiters consider the quality of hires as their main goal for the period 2024-2029. The majority of human resources directors, specifically 83%, are opting to hire talent with specialized skills, even if this means reducing the number of new hires compared to the previous year. This has negatively impacted the availability of entry-level jobs, whose proportion has significantly decreased from 79% in 2022 to 61% in 2024. In fact, entry-level positions now represent only 2.5% of the total jobs posted on platforms like ZipRecruiter at the end of April 2024, with only 1.9% of current offers that do not require previous experience. Well, one man's quest to find a job is raising questions about the labor shortage right now. He says he applied to more than 60 entry-level positions. Entry-level. But he got one interview, and he's not the only one. More than a third of employers prefer not to hire recent university graduates from Generation Z, opting instead for older employees. This decision is mainly due to the perception that many recent graduates are not sufficiently prepared to meet the demands of the workforce. According to a survey, more than half of American graduates from two- or four-year higher education institutions have not applied for entry-level jobs because they feel unqualified for these positions. Statistics indicate a strong market. However, some experts say new graduates should brace for obstacles in their job search. A huge number of them are actually working at jobs that don't even require a college degree. So what's the problem? In 2023, OECD member countries allocated on average 0.11% of their GDP to worker training. In contrast, the United States invested significantly less, only 0.03% of its GDP in job training. Moreover, there is a decreasing trend in employers' investment in their workers' training, as nowadays companies prefer to invest in technology and automation, especially compared to practices 30 or 40 years ago. How long until the machines replace us, take our jobs? There's no question artificial intelligence will remake the workplace. AI will replace 4.8 million American jobs. Jobs that demand specific skills are fundamental to the economy, a fact that became evident during the pandemic and continues to be crucial in sectors such as transportation and the supply chain. Companies that employ these workers not only generate jobs in local communities, but also contribute to the growth of regional economies. It is estimated that by 2028, the United States could face a cost of up to $975 billion if skill training fails to meet market demands. To maintain and improve living standards in the U.S., it is essential for workers to perfect their skills and adapt to new technologies. This not only helps maintain the country's global competitiveness, but also ensures the productivity of its workforce. At Economy Media, your opinion matters to us. Subscribe and let us know what you think in the comments below.