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“Statistics are a big part of the story. Between 1988 and 2018, the cost of a four-year college degree increased by 213 percent at public schools and 129 percent at private schools. Over the same period, wages for most Americans remained stagnant. Meanwhile, unemployment rates among young college graduates have grown from 4.3 percent in 2000 to 5.6 percent in 2017. Young male college graduates have been particularly hard hit. Their unemployment rate spiked from 4.1 percent in 2000 to 7.1 percent in 2017. At the same time, a scarcity of skilled workers has led to a nationwide labor shortage that’s resulted in increased wages for a number of blue-collar occupations. The lesson for many is obvious.”

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As companies work hard to hold on to their coworkers in a shrinking labor market the perks have become quite creative.

Maine Blue Collar 2018 Press Release

SCARBOROUGH — Maine, not unlike most states, is facing one of the highest shortages of skilled trades workers. In 2017, a global staffing firm reported that skilled-trade vacancies are the hardest jobs to fill and remain the No. 1 job vacancy from 2010 to present. In response, four well-known Maine-based business leaders created the “Maine Blue Collar Scholarship Foundation” as an incentive to graduating high school students to pursue trade school. In 2018, the foundation awarded $21,000 in scholarships to 26 students ranging from $500 to $2,500.

A recent article posted in The Washington Post

Joyce Brenny, chief executive of Brenny Transportation in Minnesota, gave her truck drivers a 15 percent raise this year, but she still can’t find enough workers for a job that now pays $80,000 a year.

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Pass Through Entities, Be Your Own Boss! – click the link for the full article

” The 20 percent pass-through deduction in the new tax law could provide a major benefit for self-employed, but there are also some important caveats.