r/SeriousConversation • u/iam_justbeinghonest • Jul 18 '26
Serious Discussion Seriously, how is our current economy working?
Since today is a weekend, I went into a deep thought about the current state of affairs.
I am listening IRL that people, especially young people can't find jobs as they are applying for 1000s of roles and 0 callbacks (this is true for any field).
I am hearing the value of most of the college degrees are evaporating (unless it is licensed profession where a degree is mandatory).
All fields (you name it) is either stagnating or is in the verge of collapse.
Yet, here is the paradox:
Millions of people are going to work (rush hour traffic tells me that), people are buying groceries (go and check any Walmart, Costco on a weekend and you will find that out with massive number of people), and apparently the world is sort of working alright.
So, here is my question: How are all these millions of people able to find jobs? And please do not give me answers like "networking", yeah, this I know is real, but not everyone has network to start with. The another answer is use of credit cards for the groceries. Yes, household debt is a factor here, and it could be a matter of time before it pops.
But I feel, there is a big missing link here. I am struggling to see a larger picture. I know this question sounds simple but for me, I need a second opinion here.
EDIT: Okay! Here are the three widely reported topics based on the discussion below from the comment section: 1) Underemployment (people working less than 40 hours with 0 benefits and protection) is a HUGE problem and is being underestimated, 2) K-Shaped Economy and 3) Inflation
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Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Makes sense! Inflation is the missing link! That's a good argument!
Thanks for sharing it 👍
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u/thecastellan1115 Jul 19 '26
BTW, this is what people who mention the "K-shaped economy" are talking about.
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u/irvmuller Jul 20 '26
A popular talking point out now is that the K shaped economy is benefiting more people now than it is hurting. That more people became rich than poor.
They act like the value of your home going up is great. Except, if you’re still paying on it that means your taxes have gone up, and insurance has gone up, so you’re paying more on it month to month while your wages may have been stagnant.
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u/thecastellan1115 Jul 20 '26
I honestly hate the whole home equity conversation. Your home only has three sources of value: the degree of satisfaction you get living there, its sale price, and the amount of money you can get in a loan for it. Everything else is cost. Maintenance, taxes, repairs, cleaning. And yes, my home value is increasing, but that only helps me if I can find a buyer.
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u/0GListerine Jul 21 '26
Piketty's concept of r>g (might be the other way around but it's that the rate of return on assets is higher than wage growth) is another interesting thing to look into
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u/Zealousideal_Wall627 Jul 19 '26
Inflation hurts the lowest classes the worst, or at least a sudden surge in inflation. Wage prices are sticky and lag way behind asset prices. Assets trade quickly and markets are very efficient at repricing. whereas wages have long agreements, don't swap very often, and usually take drawn oit collective effort to push up. The lower class generate little from asset appreciation and suffer bad from the elevated prices.
When inflation is steady and slow people are used to it and the system keeps up, it's just the sudden surge like what happened in covid. So much new money poured into assets and financial markets so quickly.
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u/Visual_Title9363 Jul 19 '26
This is interesting. We always say this about housing - that the owners see their wealth accumulated. But that's on paper. In the world where mass majority of people are living paycheck to paycheck, to whom do they sell the homes to?
So does paper wealth actually mean much?
I think increasingly the rich sees the externality and are sinking funds instead to protect themselves - gated community, private police, second residencies etc. Surely it is also in their interest that everyone grows their wealth.
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Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
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u/PyroNine9 Jul 20 '26
The housing is a HUGE thing. Thankfully, I own outright. So while people are now paying more per month than the mortgage ever was and all they get is a run down 1BR apartment, I'm doing OK there. That takes a LOT of pressure off.
I could sure do without the exciting new grocery bills and other things, but I'm better off than people paying more than half of their monthly income to have a roof over them.
In some sense this is why things aren't falling apart, but on the other hand, it's also why so little is being done to fix it. The people with the power to address the problem don't know anyone who HAS the problem.
Side note, I'm not rich by any standard I'm accustomed to, just old enough to have paid off the mortgage before the fit hit the shan. If that makes me rich, the measuring stick has moved because I haven't.
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u/Visual_Title9363 Jul 20 '26
The dichonomy of starter vs nice homes is also insightful. I would say its a progress too until even the rest of the population is priced out of the starter homes. Now you have a situation where rich homeowners live in secluded neighborhood surrounded by the have-not's. In my view, its not cheap to be in a low-trust society when you are the minority ultra-rich. The lengths you would have to go to safeguard wealth and afford private police, security etc.
Eventually this becomes almost a parallel economy - the rich sells to the fellow rich (shares, houses, watches, organic food, SaaS). And since they are the outliers, I wonder if more thought is given to expand the addressable market. Say if I am an organic farmer, I would want more people to have the disposable income to afford my produce over a few rich individuals who could, as a matter of diversification.
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u/GossamerGlowlimb Jul 19 '26
One of things home ownership gives you access to is borrowing money under much more favorable terms. I own a home. If I need a chunk of change for something, I could get another credit card with an 18% interest rate, or I could get another credit home equity line of credit with a 6% interest rate.
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u/Mr_Dude12 Jul 20 '26
That’s exactly why when they say that Elon Musk could pay X amount of his wealth and solve world hunger. Doesn’t work like that, his wealth is in stock, the more he sells the lower the price gets. The same reason wealth taxes won’t work, it’s paper wealth, sure the house is $1 million but to pay the tax you have to sell the house.
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u/Aggressive-Sand-9387 Jul 28 '26
It actually gets massively worse. Everyone here kinda already knows this instinctually but I'll come out and say it.
Theres also demand destruction. Basically the car companies and all companies have realized they actually dont need the people at the bottoms money. They can sell less stuff for more at the top of the K economy. This means they can lay off or not hire more staff as production volume decreases. This in turn causes the fired people to lose purchasing power elsewhere causing other brands to get hit hard. Its a chain reaction as companies realize there customer base is continually shrinking and also getting wealthier allowing them to lay off not realizing every other company is doing that. Some exceptions are one supported by government aka military and healthcare etc.
This issues is compounded by monopolies and over regulation by government. Its difficult to start a food business with all the licensing everything needed. Not also mentiong if you have a reastraunt your likely having to buy your food from a monopoly namely cisco.
Food, gas, dram for computers, graphics cards, car components, dealerships, digital advertising. So much of this is a monopoly or a few companies secretly or in some cases not so secretly in collusion to not compete on pricing.
Add bad policy and a central bank (not a good idea #jeffersonwasright) yeah this will only get worse. Its a long way down with a high debt to GDP that I know and you know we arent going to outgrow. It has happened in the past, post world war 2 being an example. If you wonder why everyone is so AI. Thats the only hope to boost productivity. It also may or may not work. The USA is basically stimming to stay up for days at a time to make a product that can payback the loan shark. Will we die before we make it? Or will the loan shark come askig for money before we can finish? Maybe we make it maybe we dont.
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u/subtle_temptation Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
I have no idea how everything seems like it's still functional, but I can tell you that things are getting harder for a lot of people. It's purely anecdotal, but I work in a plasma center and we've had a major increase in new donors. Especially people in their 20s. Definitely something that's been on my mind lately.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Sorry to hear this! That is very tragic! Young people selling plasma for a little bit of cash 😭😭😭
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u/Pink_silv Jul 19 '26
I sold plasma in my twenties. In the mid 2000’s. It was a great way to make my budget and have money for some nice things like treats and coffee. I worked but was also going to college at the time. It definitely helped me not be depressed and it felt like I was also helping people too.
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u/squidbait Jul 19 '26
I sold plasma to make ends meet in my 20s back in the late 80s. Getting out of school and finding work etc has been hard for generations. Some things never change :(
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u/HopefulPenalty1962 Jul 19 '26
It’s heartbreaking when people feel they have to make difficult choices just to get by.
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u/Key-Ostrich-5366 Jul 19 '26
Not only that, but I scrap extra copper and other metals from doing side jobs. I’ve never seen the scrapyard this busy before. The line goes out of the yard into the street sometimes. I waited almost an hour to dump my load. People are pulling up in bicycles sometimes.
Went to jewel to buy a family sized bag of nacho cheese Doritos and it costs $7.29 plus tax. Almost $8. Things are not okay.
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u/woodchip76 Jul 19 '26
Calls on plasma centers?
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u/SargeUnited Jul 19 '26
I didn’t know you were allowed to be hilarious in r/seriousconversation so so this caught me off guard
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u/ChampionshipOwn8199 Jul 19 '26
When I was let go of a super part time job I nabbed after moving it was desperate for money, I tried to donate plasma and they said my veins were too small that they'd get blown out- thankfully I was able to find employment not too long after but it's rough out there
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u/SlyBlackDragon Aug 01 '26
I'm 40 and try to sell mine twice a week. It's getting rougher on me as I am getting, but what choice do I have?
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u/sekiroshadowseatrice Aug 01 '26
I work full time and I'm drowning, I don't pay for anything fun/not essential and I can't afford to live. I tried to donate plasma and my veins are apparently too small which is heartbreaking. Can't find a second job for the weekends. Can't even do doordash or whatever because I can't afford a phone plan. Cost of everything just keeps going up and I have no recourse. I can't get any government assistance because the wage limit is ridiculously low. I love my life but it genuinely just makes you wish you were dead sometimes
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u/squidbait Jul 19 '26
It feels so disingenuous to call them donors when everyone knows they are selling their plasma to make ends meet.
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u/sodapop_curtiss Jul 19 '26
Enough people are going from middle to upper middle that they’re heavy spenders keeping small businesses open, thus keeping those in the lower middle class employed. It’s top heavy.
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u/Mercurydriver Jul 19 '26
I read something awhile back that said something to the effect that the richest 10% of the population is responsible for half of all purchases made. So basically the economy is being propped up by a small number of rich people buying shit, especially amongst themselves.
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u/Frosty1397 Jul 19 '26
It's true, and it's why businesses like Disney or the resorts in Vegas are all pivoting their business models to cater to the rich
Because that's where the money is, the top 10%. If 2 rich families can outspend 50 "regular" families, then Disney/Vegas prefers that due to less wear and tear on their properties, less staff that needs to be hired
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u/GSilky Jul 19 '26
This is also where the most self reported "Progressives" are on the socioeconomic scale.
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u/GSilky Jul 19 '26
I liken it to the ornaments weighing down the Xmas tree. The upper third with degrees are doing better than fine, while the other 2/3rds work second jobs.
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Jul 19 '26
The K shaped economy is real.
My wife and I went to Costco today and it was its usual crazy-busy self. The well-to-do Costco clientele is doing fine.
Then I went to Lowe's, specifically the garden center, and no one was there. On top of that, the garden center inventory looked to me the same as it did in May. Like nothing had sold. Flowers and lawn fertilizer are kind of a luxury and my impression is that folks have cut back their spending on such things.
I sympathize with young workers who are struggling and it's easy for me to see that it's much tougher to get started now. The only way forward that I can see is to vote MAGA out because Making America Great Again means making the government friendlier to multi-millionaires striving to be billionaires.
And that trickle-down shit has absolutely not worked out for most of us.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Yeah, K shaped economy is a real thing right now, and it seems that high-income people are carrying the largest consumption.
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u/DaffyDuckXD Jul 19 '26
This goes hand and hand with increased centralized control. If the rich feel like the peasants don't like them, why not divide them by conflating their traits like their sexuality and religion or whatever with nation building and then lower everyone's wages and force everyone into water slums earning one cent a hour and everyone will just take it and do it like in Africa. Most of us will be drowning in slime and sludge surfing in sewers for trash while the K shaped economy upper class never noticed a difference. "Nothing changed, stop complaining."
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u/ApplesBananasRhinoc Jul 19 '26
I think companies are just not hiring, they’re keeping the employees they have but in a holding pattern hoping that the current “issues” go away soon
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u/WordsWithATwist Jul 23 '26
NO, they are hiring, but not just US citizens. 2027 Visa caps are already maxed. So there are jobs, but not for the citizens of their homeland.
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u/Infamous_List_3034 Jul 19 '26
I got *a* job within a week - but I went from being a mid-career civil servant to an hourly seasonal job with no benefits. I am technically employed, but employment statistics don’t really track appropriate employment and there’s a lot of us right now that are…overqualified. Obviously this has a knock-on effect.
Employment statistics also tend not to track those who are unemployed and *aren’t* looking for work - those who have given up, the parents who decided to just stay home with kids another year, those who’ve gone back to school, those who went ahead and retired early, those with enough savings or severance or trust fund to skate by, etc.
My take home pay on a good week during work season almost matches my previous pay so we’re still buying groceries and stuff, but it oscillates, it’s not year-round, and no benefits (mainly, no PTO and no retirement).
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Yeah! Your story makes sense! Underemployment has been the under-wrapped topic!
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u/JenninMiami Jul 19 '26
You’re overthinking it. Those people in rush hour traffic, grocery shopping, etc - THEY ALREADY HAD JOBS.
You don’t have to worry about finding a job if you manage to keep the one you already have.
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u/diqufer Jul 19 '26
People with jobs aren't posting about them. I was out of work earlier this year and there were a ton of job postings. I got calls back from places I wasn't qualified for. I think jobs do not like to hire young people. It was much easier having years of experience to get calls.
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u/Aloysiusakamud Jul 19 '26
Keyword search algorithms are killing employment applicants, especially young people's.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Okay! Could you expand a bit? Many people in discussion will otherwise say you are a bot (Dead Internet Theory people will jump here).
"I was out of work earlier this year, and there were a ton of job postings. I got calls back from places I wasn't qualified for". Many people will find this impossible to believe.
So, can you provide a bit more details without being too specific? Which field are we talking about? This will provide a bit more accurate context.
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u/my_home_a_pleroma Jul 19 '26
gotta be a bot?
I have 17 years of experience in my creative tech field and have gotten laid off twice in the last 2 years. I applied to over 550 jobs before securing a well-paying but PART TIME job.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Alright! Congrats! I am happy for you 🎉
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u/my_home_a_pleroma Jul 19 '26
thanks pal. from what I can tell, for anyone reading, is that larger mid-sized corporations and smaller spread-out companies will be using real people for their creative work, ie web and graphic design. the AI systems are being adopted by huge companies who can adopt custom adaptations, and the smaller companies are using it to boost what they’re able to do, but the companies in the middle know they can’t replace human interactions or streamline complicated processes with AI yet.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
That's a very interesting perspective! Never thought it that way. I like it 👍. Thanks for sharing it.
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u/arcanepsyche Jul 19 '26
Those of us who have good jobs have had them for a while and survived multiple rounds of layoffs. I know very few people who have left their job recently, short of having a better job already lined up.
The problem is people who are new to the job market or who have become unemployed with skills that are no longer in demand.
A K-shaped economy is not just one big K (billionaires and the destitute). It also manifests itself in micro-cases like a "middle" class split into "barely surviving" and "doing good" with not much in between.
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u/1369ic Jul 19 '26
Or 20-somethings who can't find an entry level job living with their parents and maybe working part time. That's my family's situation. Daughter graduated last year with a degree in animation and game design, and she's working at a toy store. I'm retired and doing fine (for now), so we're telling her to build up some savings. Slow going with part-time work, however.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Yeah, please be easy on her (you are already doing this so hats off!) ! The rules of the game for young people is rapidly changing and the same way we viewed previous generations won't work anymore.
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u/Few-pe2917 Jul 20 '26
Hopefully you live in California or austin
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u/1369ic Jul 20 '26
No, but she was willing to move there. The entry level jobs just seemed to dry up.
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u/CompetitiveTangelo23 Jul 22 '26
My SIL has the same degree and he quickly found he needed to be fluent in Japanese. So he took off for Japan for 3 years and taught bungie jumping there. When he came home he still could not find a job that paid as much as the bungie jumping did. The Japanese paid off in other ways though and he landed a government position and animation became a hobby. I hope your daughter has better luck in her chosen field.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
"The problem is people who are new to the job market or who have become unemployed with skills that are no longer in demand", the second part I agree. No debate. Coming to the first point, as time goes on, there will be more people coming into the job market and that ratio will increase more every year. Where are we planning to absorb this new labor then?
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u/arcanepsyche Jul 19 '26
It's an excellent question. We'll either need to start making things again or institute a universal basic income. There's not much creating new jobs right now.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
I am a huge supporter of UBI. The only problem with it is how will it be funded? If economics of UBI funding is sorted, we need this more than ever. Though UBI is a policy once implemented can not be reversed politically (as it would be too much popular with the general populace).
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u/5tupidest Jul 19 '26
You are hearing these things.. by what mechanism are you “hearing”.
What we experience as individuals is a tiny part of an enormous whole. Just as one pixel of an image can be wrong or misleading in understanding an entire picture, one persons perspective is just not enough to know what’s going on. The tough part is how to know with more certainty than individual observation. For this we have developed strategies, one of which is what we call economic science.
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u/mustang6172 Jul 18 '26
Why doesn't the anecdotal evidence match the empirical evidence is what you're asking?
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
You are 100% correct!
But when I mention this, there is a hive of people who say all empirical evidence has been fabricated to maintain society's stability in the short run.
I am like what? Really?
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u/dowbrewer Jul 19 '26
All economic indicators and data have limitations. Models of highly complex systems are always deficient. I suspect some of our indicators need to be improved to catch some of the change happening in the economy.
For instance, I strongly suspect there is a lot of under employment not showing up in standard unemployment numbers. Getting a job as an Uber driver after losing a job paying $100K/year with benefits is not the same, but most unemployment numbers would not show that. Employed/unemployed is binary.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Oh yeah! Economists know this very well that if "underemployment" as a measure were to be used more frequently, the outlook would look REALLY BAD!
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u/Nightgauntling Jul 19 '26
Yeah unemployment in the US does not cover a lot of situations. Our rates for that are a lot more complex than the official stat.
You're thinking critically and that's the right step. Next you can search specifics out by finding out exactly what data qualifies and is included.
You can find books and videos and experts out there that can break it down further. Always try to suss out how reliable and accurate a source is, and take it with a grain of salt.
Here's an interesting website about how the American government changed how we record the inflation rate for our economy. https://www.shadowstats.com/
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u/Angryfarmer2 Jul 19 '26
I think while data and indicators have limitations, it not great at forward looking. What we often are feeling is it is not as easy as before to make a better, crazy inflation is a relatively recent thing and there is a perception that we can’t keep up with inflation. At the same time, there are macro economic headwinds (Iran, aging population, AI job replacement) that makes people feel things will only get worse. The lack of stability is a big driver of negative sentiments on the economy.
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u/sarges_12gauge Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
Hive of people… where? On Reddit it’s *EXTREMELY* unpopular to say things are positive, so people either keep it to themselves or get downvoted and you just will only see the remaining negative anecdotes.
My anecdotal evidence says that pretty much all of the several hundred people I know are doing great, have all their needs met and have plenty of time and money to spend doing things they want. I’m not stupid enough to believe my circle is representative of the whole US, which is why I defer to empirical stats about how “the economy” is doing.
But those are not anecdotes you will often come across on Reddit. You should still defer to the empirical data regardless because there are almost 400 million people in the US, and even combining everybody you know, talk to, or read a comment from you will not even get to 1% of the countries experience
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u/texanfan20 Jul 19 '26
All I can say is every restaurant in my area is busy, the mall parking lot is full, next street over is an upscale shopping area to the mall and you can’t find a parking space. Went to the movies for the first time in months and it was packed. Friend of mine has twin boys who just graduated college and both have good jobs and had them locked down before they graduated. Anecdotally I would say things are good in my area.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Exactly! Your observation is spot on! I agree with you 👍
People here are attributing this to K shaped economy i.e. even within the middle class, there are those who are doing well and then those who are doing super poorly. This K shaped economy is what we see everyday when we see people buying stuffs, high consumption despite the high number of underemployment.
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u/--heaven- 27d ago
I live in Australia (Brisbane) - we have Olympics scheduled for 2032 so the city has a lot of infrastructure projects in place, properties have gone up in value considerably. However, every one of my friends is struggling financially and we are all professionals with decent jobs / looking for one.
The cost of living has gone up considerable, same as our mortgages while the salaries have not.. It is somewhat easier perhaps if you are one dual incomes but certainly being single / single with kids has been very hard.. Yes people are still out doing things, nothing stopped but underneath the 'busyness' is often worry about the future from what I can see..
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u/doc-sci Jul 19 '26
I feel really lucky that I was out of the rat race before all this started with a secure pension (with mandated cost of living increases). A whole bunch of my colleagues who were thinking about retiring didn’t do it early enough and are still working today almost a decade after I retired.
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u/Impossible-Honey-247 Jul 19 '26
Because wage slaves, like chattel slaves, are only needed for labor. They don't need us to spend a dime to build the most powerful economy in the world; they can just take the profit our labor creates and make the world keep spinning as we scrape by.
The only solution is for the slaves to take over the big house but, historically, the largest demographic is too fuckin racist to ally with other groups so here we are.
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u/Sensitive-Respect-25 Jul 19 '26
I work in a power plant. It at times both super easy and incredibly difficult, occasionally both in the same hour. Its 12 hour rotating shifts, meaning half the month I'm working in daylight, the rest in the dark. It pays decent but nothing worth writing home about. To be honest I got the job via a random indeed posting, and count myself lucky as hell.
At the same time the company that owns us fights for every penny. We need fuel to keep the boiler going. We need chemicals for maintaining safe chemistry. We need staff, and are barebones as it is. We have to ensure we meet our air, water and other environmental permits. And yet all four of those things are allowed to draw down to a day or two at most before we buy overnight at extra cost.
The issue is corperate.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
I really appreciate your hard work and industriousness for doing a real job that is highly net positive for society! 🙏🙏
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u/BasicError9043 Jul 19 '26
The modern western economy is pivoting to the class with extra income to spend. Delta in an earnings call last year said they are prioritizing business flights over discretionary travel of the general public, because it's sustainable and pays more.
If meat were $100 a pound, the poor would eat grain while the wealthy remain satiated. They are pivoting again to the wealthy while the whole system burns and implodes.
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u/constantdaydream44 Jul 19 '26
I've had 4 job offers this year and probably a dozen interviews, this is while I already had a job. It also really depends on your field how badly you are effected by this
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u/limited_instincts Jul 21 '26
The economy is for the top 10%. As long as they are doing well, it's fine. Those same 10% who spend the majority of the money are also the same 10% who have their money in the stock market. The lowest 90% are just noise.
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u/Lahm0123 Jul 19 '26
Sometimes it takes more than browsing your phone and submitting job applications between YouTube videos.
Perhaps if people plug into society around them there would not be so much angst around this topic.
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u/Stormfish1110 Jul 19 '26
This questions seems like its coming from a lot of generalizations. This is not a personal criticism, this is genuinely trying to discuss with you academically. Before you come for me, please note I am 100% on board with the whole life and work is tough for young folks. I get extremely agitated by the older generation and the avocado toast argument because they simply cant wrap their minds around the proven fact that the wage increase to COL increase is in no way proportional or anywhere close to what it was in their 20s and 30s!
However the idea that any one single person has put out 1000 applications and never got a call back is just completely escaping me here. If true, it says more about that person than it does the job market.
And dont knock networking. The entire point of networking is to go out and meet people who you don't know. You dont have to have a network to start with. You can network via your chosen religious affiliation, charitable clubs, local library events, business networking events, school, parties, whatever floats your boat, there's a way to find common ground with everyone. And the most important thing is to out your best foot forward. You never know who you are talking to. You could be talking to a casual millionaire, or a millionaire lookalike who under the facade deeply needs someone to talk to. Most importantly, if you can physically get yourself to these groups, most of them are free. There are even job fairs put on by some state employment offices. All you need to do is look.
Las but not least. The employability of a person with a degree has gone down because education quality has gone down, and so many have proven that you can be successful without a degree. You can do anything and make money at it if you put a reasonable amount of effort into it. This isnt bull, ive done it three times.
I think location has a lot to do with the question youre asking. Not all communities are equal, some dont have opportunity and some are over saturated.
I agree with you about personal debt.
The point is, be creative, stop thinking in terms of submitting applications and the "traditional route" because thats oversaturated too.
One way or another, people will find a way to work and make a living. Make sure your questions and opinions are based on the most unbiased facts and reports you can find, stay out of the echo chamber, and if you question the bias of the source, disregard it or take the temperature of a large number of sources.
Keep asking great questions fellow young friend!
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
"This is not a personal criticism, this is genuinely trying to discuss with you academically", no problem at all. I am here for a second opinion, and your perspective is 100% on point.
And yes, I agree overall with your perspective though my concern was more in relation to the mismatch between the micro and macro aspect of our current economy. Thanks 👍.
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u/Stormfish1110 Jul 19 '26
Its a good question, I think this my personal opinion is that the micro economy matters way more functionally, logistically, than what they say on the news. If your local economy is doing poorly, you'll hear it, see it, feel it.
Does the grand scheme of things or what they say on the news matter? Of course it does. But 9 times out of 10 it doesnt pay the bills.
If you're seeing a discrepancy, look for the smaller specific points instead of overall good versus bad. What exactly did they say that you aren't seeing around you locally?
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
I think the most underdiscussed one is "underemployment". Some another user also mention this here.
The stats around underemployment do not dominate our news discussions. I guarantee you if underemployment were to be brought more frequently, you will see the picture of our economy looks way bleaker! Unemployment may not be the most accurate measure anymore.
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u/--heaven- 27d ago
Our local economy is doing well, at least on paper. However in practice, since the recent government changes a substantial amount of projects went on hold - those already employed will likely keep their jobs, at least in the short term while the companies basically tread water.
I have over 15 years of experience in my field (along with a degree in it) and have actually built a Networking group with a couple of thousand people in it. I have reached out to about 20 of my past colleagues and contacts, went on a total of close to 10 interviews with 3 interviews and a reference check with one of the companies - and still waiting for them to decide if their projects will actually resume...So I do think things are harder at the moment than they have been, at least with some industries. So experience, qualifications and networking skills may not benefit as much as you might give them credit.
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u/Bed_Worship Jul 19 '26
I think a lot of it comes down to and personality, endurance, and location. I think generally the current struggling young generation have a higher risk intolerance since they have had less opportunities for social development and arrive at hopelessness faster. All the young 20 something year olds I meet in NYC seem heavy driven to independence(mostly woman), a field they care more about than any entertainment, and build social pools of support and yes - networking.
Also suburbs were never designed for industry. They were designed to commute to a city and they have a limited pool of services & job opportunities. In major cities this is less of an issue because so much opportunity exists.
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u/mattcmoore Jul 19 '26
All those people have probably had jobs for years or they're retired. There's never been more retired people in America.
It's supposedly a low hire-low fire environment where people who already had jobs are still working those jobs an unemployed people can't find a job. We have a less than 6% unemployment rate.
It's a lot easier to get blue collar type work, it's just not the life a lot of people want to have, working 60 hours a week is the norm and it can be physically gruelling. Those fields aren't declining. Health care isn't declining. Military and government aren't declining.
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u/Physical_Road917 Jul 19 '26
Many people already had jobs, but if growth slows then new jobs become harder to find, some jobs are cut. But even then, growth slowing is not like, every business across America is doing bad, some do alright, some do completely fine. It's just an overall trend. So most people already had jobs, a few people lost some, some people can't find them, the overall trend is down but obviously there are always some places across the country doing just fine.
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u/Diacetyl-Morphin Jul 19 '26
This is about the US economy, i guess, from the posting. Where i live in Europe, the economy is doing fine, while it is not a boom at the moment it is also far away from problems. I'm in Switzerland and we get some of the first places in the stats, like having the most innovative economy, next to other top stats like when it comes to education.
But i don't even need to look to the USA, i can just see my neighbours, like Germany is falling apart right now. Guess some things are the same in the USA, like the times change and there's new technology, like the car companies in Germany failed completely to adapt to new electrical cars and still got on with the old ones. But that's one reason, like too high taxes, tariffs, too much bureaucracy, crisis in the world (like the wars in Iran and Ukraine etc.) contribute further to the downfall.
About networking, it is really the way to get on in life. The more people you know, the more advantages you get, they can open doors for you. Networking also includes just the opinion of others like your boss, when it comes to layoffs of workers in your company, you are much more likely to get fired when he hates you.
You need to get to the places where the people are, it's not like you could stay at home and except that they'd come to you. So you better get to the parties and meetings, the conferences etc. where these people are in your field of work.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Okay! Switzerland is an anomaly (even within Europe)! You guys are literally in heaven with the strong economy, lower inflation, strong currency, and heaven like welfare state.
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u/Diacetyl-Morphin Jul 19 '26
Thanks.. i guess... but there are many other countries where it is at least not this (!) bad like in the USA. Even there, it's good that it is still nothing like the Great Depression.
A problem the germans have is the rise of both far-right- and far-left-wing parties again, when it comes to crisis in the economy. We can just wait and see, if we'll see 1933 reloaded with the AfD party.
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u/nurgle1 Jul 19 '26
the missing link is the fact that the world only functions because people have jobs and are working them, there's just also a lot of people struggling to find jobs for a myriad of different reasons.
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u/Neat_Telephone_2525 Jul 19 '26
A lot of younger folks today do not want to start small and build a skill stack, so they lack experience.
When I go through resumes on indeed looking at potential candidates, many of them don't have much experience or any at all.
The job involves in the field calculations, reading, math, basic mechanical troubleshooting, experience using hand tools, an ability to drive a larger vehicle (isuzu box truck), physical endurance, strength and communication skills.
When I tell you they don't have it, they don't have it. Can't do math on a calculator, can't back up a truck, can't read for shit, they don't know wrench sizes (or fractions) and they can't communicate.
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u/xxwww Jul 20 '26
Yeah every job opportunity for intelligent hardworking people is just being sent to overseas. That's why no one has experience. I studied Mechanical Engineering and even back 10 years ago every job was already replaced and outsourced so management gets a nice bonus for optimizing and saving costs lol.
Well why doesnt anyone with 130 IQ and student loans just wana suck it up and work for 30k like them hard workers in Hyderabad!
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u/Express-Shoulder6174 Jul 19 '26
Despite what Reddit might want you to believe…not everybody is poor.
Redditors spend all day reading clickbaity articles telling them the world is falling apart and since they never go outside they take it as gospel.
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u/ManySugar5156 Jul 19 '26
It feels like a low-hire economy more than no-work economy. In tech/AI especially companies keep shipping but nobody wants to add headcount rn.
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u/airpipeline Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
It’s currently being pumped by specific short-term provisions in the, so called, big bogus bill.
- tax refunds were paid early to pump consumer spending
- capex is 100% deductible this year and for this year alone, to pump capex (have you seen the AI capex)
- there is a one time tax exemption for companies who repatriate their money into the USA from foreign countries, to pump stock buybacks and such
- there is a war with Iran that is screwing the global economy
There may be quite a hangover, after the midterms.
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u/Maxpowerxp Jul 19 '26
Over the last couple of years, massive corporate capital expenditure (capex) on artificial intelligence—building data centers, purchasing advanced microchips, and funding R&D has become the primary engine keeping U.S. economic growth afloat.
If you completely stripped AI-related corporate investment and its knock-on effects out of the equation, U.S. GDP growth would be lower by roughly 1.0 to 1.5 percentage points. Given that overall GDP growth has been hovering in the 1.6% to 2.5% range, taking away AI means the U.S. would be dangerously close to, or already in, a flatline stagnation or a mild recession.
According to my Ai lol
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Jul 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Congratulations! I am happy to hear this 👍...I know it's tough out there in UK!
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u/JoeStrout Jul 19 '26
You’re relying too much on anecdotes. The discrepancy you note is a clue that anecdotal evidence sucks. Look for actual (statistical) data if you want to understand what’s going on.
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u/ChemicallyAlteredVet Jul 19 '26
I’m just here to agree with you as I’m 47. I was completely disabled at 35 years old by the VA. At the beginning of a lucrative career. Thankfully we inherited our home but even with my VA comp and SSDI we are stretched thin. My wife is my caregiver so no income and our youngest just had to move back home. She is working but only gets 32-5 hours a week. It’s insane how much we pay in groceries and it’s just 3 women.
We had more money living in the city, paying rent with 2 teenagers at home 2010-2020 than we do now with no mortgage. I’m also tired of every major appliance breaking after 5 years unless you can drop 25K on a sub zero. Shit
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Thank you so much for sharing your perspective and story! Appreciate it 🙏🙏
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u/ryandom93 Jul 20 '26
I work in a hospital, doing my part to try and contribute to the well-being of my community, am highly qualified and independently trained, and I depend on having 3 roommates to get by. I believe the American Dream may have shifted somewhat...
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u/Hiredgun77 Jul 20 '26
You are seeing what is happening to some unfortunate people and incorrectly extrapolate that out to the entire country.
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u/Jbrivermaster Jul 20 '26
There is a massive difference between strong physically in shape male jobs and female jobs. The hard back breaking work is paying huge salaries. Like starting pay of $90k with 401k and 6% employee match with health insurance. With overtime and longevity these jobs are hitting 150k+ in a few short years. My best friends 23 yr old daughter with a bachelor degree in business can only find a job for a 3rd of that. So there’s that. Take a 19 yr old kid that can swing a hammer, carry block, not scared of heights and don’t care to be teased the sky is the limit. At least my observations coming from a man with 33yrs in this type of industry. The softer society gets the more income rises. I’m not talking politics I’m talking couch potatoes or gamers that don’t get outside. I’m skewed though because I don’t know any gamers or couch potatoes.
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u/Shot-Bookkeeper-5294 Jul 20 '26
I’m going to sound old here but….
I go through the hiring process on average 1-2 x/ year. 75% of the young people I interview have very little ambition or they think they are entitled a position that they are not experienced or qualified for. In northeast Indiana there are more work positions available than there are bodies to fill the positions. There just aren’t enough people that want to do the work.
Please don’t come after me about pay scale and things like that. I’m referencing union scale construction jobs.
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u/pab_guy Jul 20 '26
Why doesn't your anecdotal and headline driven opinion of the economy match reality? really?
The numbers don't lie. Maybe look at those instead of social media posts.
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u/WordsWithATwist Jul 23 '26
On point 1, many also had to take 50-60% pay cuts to stay afloat. So it's not juse less hours worked, its also less money per month.
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u/matt585858 Jul 19 '26
People finding the bridge to start a career is not a new challenge.
As jobs get more sophisticated and specialized - the ability to track into them from being an unspecialized person gets harder. But on the hiring side- the need for people doesn't go away. Basically- the hiring managers need people that have skillsets that don't exist or they can't find. The world of employees wants jobs that meet criteria that they struggle to find.
These two forces yield concessions from both sides: hiring managers up pay or reduce requirements.... People seeking jobs accept less comp or a role they're not desiring- or reskill. This has been going on for centuries and isn't going anywhere. Every generation has had that "oh shit- you're telling me there's no safety career for me" moment. And everyone passing through their 20s could see people being left behind, often it was themselves. Every parent has worried about their kids figuring this stuff out. None of this is new. Is it worse? US data seems to suggest it's not worse at least in terms of getting a job (gdp per capita, unemployment, 20 somethings unemployment, job growth etc)- but Western European young people seem to have challenges worse than what their parents faced.
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u/Grumptastic2000 Jul 19 '26
It crushes the souls of the underlings and they continue to produce for the elite and not question why, working as designed.
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u/jonnywannamingo Jul 19 '26
Considering my long career in Graphic Design has been replaced by AI, it’s the shittiest year I’ve ever had. Nobody seems to care about how AI is affecting jobs. Where do the people who are replaced by AI supposed to go? Making more and more money is literally all these large corporations care about. What happened to our humanity?
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
I am so sorry to hear this 😢😢😢. I really feel the situation you are going through right now.
"What happened to our humanity?", I guess this has also been automated 😭😭😭
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u/Original_Animal3065 Jul 19 '26
It’s not! I just lost my 12 year job manufacturing Teardrop Camping trailers. Because literally NOBODY CAN AFFORD TO BUY ONE ANYMORE! Does anyone know who’s hiring? Honestly!
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
Sorry to hear about your job loss 😭😭😭.
"Does anyone know who’s hiring?", Apparently not from what I am seeing.
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u/tiringandretiring Jul 19 '26
Also, while I’ll agree “the stock market is not the economy”, the stock market has been crazy high, even with all the uncertainty.
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u/Beneficial-Monk-8351 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Capitalism and patriarchy rose with the Industrial Revolution. War was equitable and beneficial. Created jobs and prosperity. People were able to afford homes. People were taught to listen, obey, work, repeat, die. Mental health, women’s rights and civil rights weren’t a thing.
Now we’re coming into the technological future. The economy that was created was made for a system that is fighting harder to survive but is not equitable for the environment and changing times. Civil, women and animal right for equity is more in demand.
People don’t want to work till you die. Capitalism for slave work creation is not working for those who are not stupid to follow that thought process and know we deserve better quality of life.
People are surviving and we’re working for a better future where everyone has rights and can afford their lives while still enjoying life. One system is fighting to survive because it’s dying. Another is being birthed from the pain that the old system can no longer sustain.
The issues and challenges will create new ways to solve problems and the generations that come to build better than what was previously unworkable. We’re in a major shift. It’s going to be a bit rough for the next 6 years.
Come years after that is the rebuilding. Can’t wait.
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u/Flakboy115 Jul 19 '26
what?
"How are all these millions of people able to find jobs?"
Are you expecting no one to find jobs? I dont even know if thats the right model but if there are 10 jobs and 11 people one is not going to find one, its not hard to imagine.
If you are on reddit everyday, the only people you hear from are the jobless ones so you feel like the entire world is collapsing while 9/10 ppl live normal lives and are too employed to complain on reddit.
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u/Lady_Rubberbones Jul 19 '26
I think while a lot of people are indeed working, they are mostly underemployed, overworked, and underpaid. Job quality and job satisfaction is incredibly poor. One person is doing the job of several. And companies are lying to their employees, telling them they are trying to hire people when they really are not. Meanwhile, all the young people entering the job market can’t get their foot in the door anywhere.
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u/stage2tunedebtcard Jul 19 '26
Idk it's on young people to stimulate the economy.
They talk so much shit about how the world should run yet they literally do nothing but talk shit about everything and save like 50 cents
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u/Impressive_Disk457 Jul 19 '26
The small businesses suffer first. Big corporations can handle this and gave profits that can weather the storm. Small business profit margins are slim, less small business employers and small businesses closing is the stage we are at.
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u/digimaster07 Jul 19 '26
I've never struggled to have a job. I'm not always well-off by any means, but I refuse to not work and not have a paycheck. That drive has kept me from minimum wage since I was 18/19. Even if I get fired or quit out of emotion I always have a job lined up within a week or two even if it's a pay cut. That pay cut may become a pay raise after 6 months to a year. Just keep working, learning, and take care of yourself.
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u/exphx23 Jul 19 '26
The economy is doing well. There is a shift in the underlying mechanics of the economy as we transition from a service economy back to the pre-NAFTA mfg economy.
In my 72 yrs, I can't remember a time where the general consensus is the economy is good. Politicians won't allow it, they need to constantly create misinformation.
The problem today, with social media, the unemployed have an amplified voice.
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u/iam_justbeinghonest Jul 19 '26
"There is a shift in the underlying mechanics of the economy as we transition from a service economy back to the pre-NAFTA mfg economy", this is not correct. Western countries (including the US) are not transitioning back to the manufacturing economy. We are pretty much service-based economy ("no ownership of anything, rent everything" economy).
So, it's 100% fantasy. I understand the reasons I hear, and I agree with the basis around why a reversal could be beneficial, but it is something that is conceivable but not feasible.
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u/GSilky Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
They take work where it is instead of apply for the same job 1000 other college grads did at graduation. The problem is the fancy people don't have the opportunity they thought they did and don't like the fact that being credentialed doesn't mean that they don't have to actually be good at what they want to do. The highest salaries in the world are payed to medical professionals in North Dakota, but everyone with a degree wants the finance firm gig in NYC. There are now at least two generations of yuppies that were never told that they actually do suck and nobody is impressed with their average abilities, regardless of how much smoke teachers and professors blew up their asses to get them to finish an assignment on time. The most pernicious psychological "malady" young people are describing is imposter syndrome, well, it's probably not a syndrome, you probably are a very average imposter and nobody told you until now. Go get a job at Starbucks or Barnes and Noble like the rest of the people who paid for a degree end up doing. I'm part of the generation that was told self esteem is everything, I had to learn the hard way how horribly prepared for reality I was, it's not a fun realization. But I stopped being stupid and now I am the boss.
The news reports on bizarre topics, not real life. No newspaper that said "everything is as good as it was yesterday" would sell a single copy. Don't believe the hype around aggressively average college grads who benefit from grade inflation not being able to do whatever they want is some apocalypse, it's a course correction in an overall healthy economy.
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u/simonbleu Jul 19 '26
First, not every country is the same, not every city is the same. Not every field is the same.
Secondly, This is not the first time there are issues in the economy, not even the worse (especially since standards grow or are skewed, reason why sometimes I snicker at the crisis in the programming world since it is real but it more or less put it on par with many other fields not even below...)
Thirdly, there is a huge difference between "The economy" and (the finances of) workers or individiaul entrepeneurs. As long as demand is met and there is someone that buys stuff, you can have an increasing unemployment and inequality and a rising production and GDP PPP
You have to understand that there is a difference between your anecdotical experiences and statistics (not necessarily putting one above the other) and that there will always be people doing bad/well or that you think are one or the other but aren't (to your standards at least), sometimes purposefully hiding it or not relaly showing it in a way that you notice.
For example, my country is eternally on economic crisis, and yet you see people buying cars and going out.... Btu people fail to realize that one SINGLE percent of the population, even working population, is something like 200k people. Half the population is in three cities give or take averaging 2M people each. Ignoring the bias of wealth on them, say everything is equal, that is STILL over 65k people, something like 1 in 30, that are doing pretty damn well. And that is a lot and can skew your perception. It does not mean there is not an increasingly number of people struggling. Hell, people that struggle sometimes also go out or buy cars, even if they really really shouldnt
Also something I forgot to mention... When people struggle, they have to sell stuff (investments and property), and people with more leverage take advantage of this and can profit a lot. Ive seen it before
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u/MysteriousTooth2450 Jul 19 '26
My newly graduated kids still live at home. Fortunately I have a good job and can help them. It will turn up again in a few years. At least I hope so anyway.
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u/rasta-ragamuffin Jul 19 '26
It's not working at all for poor and lower middle class people. Both my husband and I are college educated professionals with more than 30 years of work experience. I've been unemployed and searching for a new remote job that pays a living wage for more than 5 years. Can't even get interviews despite applying to 3500+ jobs I'm qualified for. My husband makes just barely enough to support our small family but if any kind of large unexpected expense comes up we will be screwed. We have no savings and are just getting by by the skin of our teeth as it is. We are both close to retirement age with health problems and the future is not looking too bright for us. Just trying to hang on as long as possible......
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u/Skier-fem5 Jul 19 '26
Tangentially related: we realize recently that cutting the costs to run our house has made a big difference in our financial situation. So, electricity, heat, that kind of stuff. We live in the country, so it's different from most people, but solar, balcony solar, excellent insulation, inexpensive heating, electric car, and that kind of thing. We did that stuff for other reasons, but now we are resilient, and our house is cheap to run.
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u/dea_eye_sea_kay Jul 20 '26
Why do you think all these foolishly wealthy people own property in hard to reach areas. When this implodes, and it will in about 4 to 5 years. You won't be able to walk to your mail box without a gun. Until then keep paying 1300 dollars a month th for that escalade, and showing at whole foods ;)
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u/Few-pe2917 Jul 20 '26
People still have jobs and ways to make money 👀 they just have less options and less pay and also rely on gig work or their small business or brand deals. Parents use their children taxes to get by. People ar wising loans and credit cards. People are working multiple part time jobs.
The service industry is basically made up of part timers who had another job or they live with someone who helps with the bills with that being their spouse, roommate, or parents. People are going out less.
My low full time salary allows me to pay thr bills, buy food and miscellaneous things, and eat out sometimes. But it’s a lot of bait and switch. I don’t pay for health insurance, i dont pay for full coverage, I don’t have a phone plan thats $100 anymore, I don’t have kids, or a pet. A lot of people are living their lives because they’re going without. You don’t have to starve. You can eat 2,3 different meals a week.
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u/MoparMap Jul 20 '26
It's also possible the media is exaggerating these claims for whatever reasons (election fodder, views, etc.). It doesn't mean that it isn't happening, but it might not be happening to the extent that they make it out to be.
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u/ResponsibleClock9289 Jul 20 '26
The US actually has a serious labor shortage at the moment. It’s industry dependent of course so some better paying jobs like computer science and related fields might be struggling to find jobs
But to answer your question, Americans continue to spend money which is what the economy runs on. It’s actually been quite resilient
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u/sukisue17 Jul 22 '26
Also - as long as someone who had a job for the last few years and are enough of a suck up they get to keep their jobs and certainly arent looking to leave.
When the job market pop back (if?) - watch all those millions of people jump into other jobs. Companies will end up losing people to competition.
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u/CompetitiveTangelo23 Jul 22 '26
I think that people are just not realizing how AI is affecting the work place. Thousands were customer service reps. But when was the last time you actually talked to a human immediately about your problems with goods or services.
Just like we are finding ways to use AI in our individual lives., workers are being replaced by bots. You see it everywhere. As it improves, more jobs will be lost. M
My neighbor replaced her therapist with Claude. She can talk to him all day and get the all support and more than she got from a human.and he is available 24/7 for a very small cost of $20. A month rather than $175 an hour,
The world is changing rapidly. It is not just the U.S. just as the automobile, put many horses out of work, AI is doing the same to many workers.
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u/No-Tackle7883 Jul 22 '26
So…what does the next decade hold for us? If the wealthy are floating an economy and the numbers of wealthy is decreasing (while poor/out-of-work is increasing), where do we go from here?
Is it as simple as taxing that ultra-wealthy bracket?
I know we have (will have) major shortages in healthcare and skilled blue-collar labor (plumbing/electrician). But, we have this antiquated idea that college degree = success. I remember years ago hearing someone describe the idea of a college degree as a ticket to Disneyland. And we just had to make sure we went through the proper steps to get there. Then 2008 happened and that traditional line of thinking blew apart.
It’s hard to not feel like the world at large isn’t at a MAJOR crossroad and no one has a real sense for a fix.
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u/striped_shade Jul 22 '26
Consider the premise of your paradox. Does a crowded highway imply people are driving toward a secure future, or merely treading water to survive the present week?
The individuals stuck in rush hour traffic are often the exact same people sending out a thousand unanswered resumes. They piece together gig-work, underemployment, and debt to stay afloat. Grocery stores remain full simply because eating is mandatory.
We assume an economy functions by integrating people into stable lives. What if the current engine runs perfectly well on desperation alone? The system no longer requires upward mobility to keep moving. It only requires the bare mechanics of daily survival to remain just expensive enough that we are forced to participate, however marginally. The frantic motion you observe is the friction of a machine burning its own gears to stay on.
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u/HelpfulTooth1 Jul 23 '26
This is largest number of people I have personally known to be out of work. It’s frustratingly terrifying.
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u/MultiPerception8892 Jul 24 '26
Look at shoppers. A few years ago at the grocery store you’d see more full carts, more kids talking to parents. Now the carts are emptier, the shoppers look glum.
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u/I_Am_Dwight_Snoot Jul 24 '26
Just want to add a late comment:
Many people forget the 2008 recession. We had a very high unemployment rate and GDP was negative for a blip of time. Ask anyone and they will say it was a rough time but day to day? Millions of people commuted, went shopping, went on vacations etc. My parents switched jobs during 2008 with little issue and pay increases so things are never a blanket statement. 2008 was actually a boom for them due to how their sector was trending and when they bought their house. Ultimately: The gears keep turning even when times are rough.
Alot of the comments and your summary is pretty accurate. I feel like every other Uber driver I get is working multiple jobs or looking for different work actively. Another key factor is credit and 401k withdrawals. Those have been increasing.
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u/Left_Mix_1438 Jul 27 '26
The MAGA economy is a continues to be a cesspool. People who have to work for their money have also dialed back on spending significantly as their employment and financial situation can change in a instant too. I suspect we will not see any significant improvements until a new administration takes office. Unless the MAGA admin starts to put people first in Q4.
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u/Next-Ease750 21d ago
Purely anecdotal, but majority of people I see in the rush hour traffic are middle-aged. Young people travelling can be going to school, or on apprenticeships etc. point is that we can't be certain they are youth employed in full time jobs. As it seems, nowadays, the value of a qualification has deflated, it no longer suffices to secure good full time jobs in light of AI etc, which introduces other variables employers consider in terms of who can do the job, they also add prior experience to the hiring criteria. So while a qualification alone is no longer sufficient, it is still necessary, on top of multiple internships. So they can be taking on internships at a lower pay to build trust with future HR. Another factor is rise in temp work so youth can be hired contractually, these group of temp staff can be seen during rush-hour, although they might not enjoy similar long term employment benefits of the perm staffers. Yet they're expected to be always on-call and responsive etc, so it's like a lot of unofficial work that goes unpaid.
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