So many job openings, so little hiring - what's the deal?

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...e-hiring-.html

I can't help but wonder how many of these openings are part time gigs without any insurance or benefits or in some cases even commission only.

[taxguykarl]

With no examples of the type of unanswered ads, we are left guessing.

[Dreamstalker]

I think there's a mismatch of expectations; 'entry-level' positions looking for 3-4 years experience, that sort of thing. And/or some companies may have to post openings even if they're being filled (or already have been filled) internally.

[KellyHabersham]

I think there's a mismatch of expectations; 'entry-level' positions looking for 3-4 years experience, that sort of thing.

It's getting to be like that at my job - a "page" is an entry-level position at the library, and my understanding is that now you have to have at least two years of customer service experience to be considered for an interview.

[Moirae]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...e-hiring-.html

I can't help but wonder how many of these openings are part time gigs without any insurance or benefits or in some cases even commission only.

I'd say that's quite likely. At our hotel, the only full time employees are me and my husband. Specifically because the owner doesn't want to pay overtime or benefits. Incidentally, we may be full time but we don't have benefits either. And our wage is far too low for our skill levels. He should be paid $19 or $20 an hour and likely in any other city, he would be. I should be making $15, likely in any other city, I would be. For a major tourist center, wages are pretty low here.

In this city, unless you work in the big boxes, you won't ever be making that much money. And breaking in to the big boxes is extremely difficult (I couldn't even get an interview to be a silver roller at the Hilton, never mind a Sales Assistant at the Merriott. In spite of being told by a Merriott hiring manager in the past that they can definitely find something for me since I have so much experience).

[EricKei]

From when I lived in NOLA -- The average wage (for full-time workers in general) was about $10 grand less than, say, Atlanta, when both cities supposedly have more or less the same cost of living. (ATL - Higher real estate, but better access to many major industries; NOLA - high taxes, the City proper has the highest total sales tax in the nation, but cheap food, iirc. Also, good luck finding non-ethanol gas (for reasons better off left on Fratching))...

[Moirae]

Yeah, I never understood why everyone keeps talking about how great it is here. The average wage is between $10 and $15 an hour. Less if you're a housekeeper (even at the big boxes). The rent in New Orleans has sky rocketed. It's about the same for a mortgage depending on where you live.

[EricKei]

Great place to live if you intend to go have fun -- or, better yet, if the parents are paying the rent ~_~ From having grown up there, yeah, it's a wonderful place to visit, but you tend to run out of stuff to do while living there. The main pasttime once you get past Pre-summer (aka Spring) is complaining about the weather. The Festivals are mostly for the tourists, and not much of interest happens between Jazz Fest and, say, Thanksgiving.

The burbs are generally a good deal cheaper, and the area is small enough that, traffic notwithstanding, you can get to the Quarter in 10-15 minutes from pretty much anywhere on the Southshore unless there's a game on at the Dome/Arena.

[Moirae]

Yeah, its a great place if you're a tourist. Working in the tourism industry has kind of erased that for me. The festival times are times I go home so tired I can barely stand. And for me (being from Canada), the summer months are absolute torture and I couldn't live here without an AC.

I wouldn't mind moving to the Irish Channel, but it's not cheap to live there (though not as expensive as say, Old Metairie), my husband has vetoed several area's though including Gentilly and Lakeview due to the flooding that happened in those areas from Katrina (not that I blame him, mind you. I don't want to live there either). I've been looking at places to live sing Trulia since they have a "crime rating" thing on it that tracks the crimes that have happened in the past year, but honestly every block is different.

The best thing about the area is that the food is soooooooo good. Nowhere else in the world is the food so utterly delicious (though I miss some of my Canadian favorites pretty bad, like Lays Ketchup chips and Phillidelphia Cream Cheese Chip Dip).