Reader Moonmac argues the case that we are in a recession, in a rejoinder my paper “Recession since 2022? A Critique“:
McService Job Nation disagrees even though they’re employed. Gainfully is a different matter.
I think the data is suggests otherwise. While employment is growing at limited service restaurants (aka fast food restaurants), wages are growing both relative to average wages, and in real terms.
Figure 1: Employment in limited service restaurants, 000’s (blue). Source: BLS.
Figure 2: Average hourly wages in limited service restaurants (blue, left scale), in private nonfarm payroll sector (red, right scale), both in 2023$ (deflated using CPI-all urban). Source: BLS, and author’s calculations.
What is it about people that they don’t look at freely available data? Is it Excel-phobia, or they can’t do division even with a calculator?
Given how this new troll was incapable of clearly stating any real assertion – your ability to tease out a post taking down his rant was quite good.
All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality: Limited-Service Restaurants and Other Eating Places in California
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SMU06000007072259001SA
Fred shows this sector’s employment for California alone. CALI has seen a big increase in its minimum wage which a lot of right wingers claimed would kill this sector in California. The actual employment data shows otherwise.
I’m not going to give the name, but it is a chain fastfood restaurant where I live. “Regional” you could describe it, not really national. Semi-popular. I do not know “for a fact”, but I strongly suspect they make more than McD’s workers and I also suspect their management program (a kind of internal career advancement tool or “carrot”) is better because I see much less turnover of their workers than at local McDonalds. Me and a friend had breakfast there this morning. A LARGE “Spanish burrito”, medium coke, biscuits and gravy (two biscuits with WAY too much gravy), and a medium coffee, with 3 creams and sugar. $9.06 (that’s $9.06 WITH tax included). i.e. TWO people eating a large breakfast for $4.53 per person. People can avoid much of inflation (and really eliminate it entirely) if they use their brains when consuming products/services. Now…… if they are semi-illiterate, like Bruce Hall, maybe not.
Another choice is buying breakfast biscuits at the grocers for about $1.25 a piece to pop into the microwave and fix coffee at home for pennies a large cup.
Instead of KFC, supermarket chicken $5.99 for a WHOLE chicken pre-cooked/done rotisserie style. People can do what they want. Just don’t expect us to cry for the Bruce-ies’ of the world who can’t use their brain when consuming products.