Why many ‘essential’ workers get paid so little,
according to experts
The concept of supply and demand loomed large in most
of their answers.
“The essential workers harvest our food and stock our
grocery shelves. They fulfill orders at warehouses and deliver goods all over
the country. They drive our buses, gas our cars and keep our streets clean.
They watch our children and care for us when we fall ill.
They also happen to be among the lowest-paid workers
in the country. So why the disconnect? And, conversely, why are relatively
nonessential jobs in such fields as entertainment and finance so
well-compensated?”
The Pandemic’s Economic Lessons
DANIEL SUSSKIND, a fellow in economics at Balliol College, Oxford University, notes:
“The Second World War catalyzed a shift in women’s treatment in the labor market, and this crisis may similarly force us to address another working-world flaw: the gap between the great social value of so many jobs, and the comparatively small market value (in the form of a salary) that they receive. In Britain, for instance, labeling doctors, nurses, care workers, social workers, teachers, criminal lawyers, and others as “key workers” betrays a two-fold irony: Though these roles are key (and have been for some time), that status is in many cases not reflected in their pay; and some of them are precisely the sorts of so-called low-skilled workers that post-Brexit immigration controls would keep out. In some countries, narrowing this gap will be easier: In the U.K., for instance, the state is the main employer for these particular jobs. It could swiftly narrow the difference between their social value and their market value, should it want to.”
Could the Pandemic Wind Up Fixing What’s Broken
About Work in America?