The job shortage in the United States is particularly serious. Last year, we had to export goods made in China to the U.S., and it took more than a month to unload the goods shipped on the ship from the port, despite the ship’s arrival in front of L.A., says Kim, who runs a logistics company in South Korea. In a normal situation, it took four to five times the amount of time to do one week.
Thanks to this, I remember having a hard time notifying customers that I was sorry for being late. The biggest cause of this phenomenon was the lack of employment. There was no one to work at the port. There is a shortage of people to work not only in ports but also in the American industry as a whole. There is a very serious shortage of people to work in general self-employed companies such as restaurants as well as manufacturing. In some regions, restaurant workers cannot be hired even if they pay more than $40 an hour. An hourly wage of $40 is an amount that can be said to be the wages of high-income people in Korea, and restaurants cannot hire employees even at this amount.
Why did this happen? There are many reasons. First of all, asset prices rose significantly due to the side effects of the low-interest rate era that came with the Corona crisis. Rising asset prices have spawned a lot of lightning-rich people who chose to retire quickly. Because real estate and stock prices have risen, there is no need to work even at the risk of COVID-19. Demand in the job market temporarily exceeded supply because they had to fill the jobs they were missing. In addition, various alternatives have emerged to low-skilled, low-wage jobs.
Delivery drivers have emerged as major jobs, and jobs such as YouTubers and full-time investments have also attracted young people. In particular, the demand for delivery increased significantly due to COVID-19, and the income of delivery drivers increased significantly. It is natural in a way that delivery seems to be a much better alternative than getting a job at a small and medium-sized company or restaurant and working with the eyes of the superiors. Korea is experiencing a similar situation at a level as serious as the United States. Even in China and Vietnam, which have been acting as factories around the world at low labor costs, similar things are happening, which can be seen as a global trend. In this situation, can a small manager manage or operate?
Chang Young Choi
US ASIA JOURNAL
