Price of Gas Impact on Today's Job Market
by LAURA PHILLIPS
The perpetually rising gas prices are hurting everybody. Mostly, we��re concerned with the prices we have to pay whenever we top off our gas tanks. How did we get to the point where filling up our gas tanks is like losing at a night at the Craps table? Making matters worse is the impact of the rising gas prices on the unseen things. Not only does this include the price of food and other important commodities, but the country��s job market as well. Employees could be spending as much as 5000 dollars a year on gas. This is simply too much for a person to bear and they will often try to find a job that is closer to them, even if it means taking a pay cut.
Currently, if an employee has a commute of over 30 miles, it is very likely that he or she will be looking for a new job. As gas continues to rise and the economy continues to slump, this could only get worse. In the past, commuting costs haven��t had too much of an impact on whether or not a person would take a job, especially if they were making 6 figures. All that is changing though as even the higher paid employees are refusing to take jobs with a long commute.
Another reason why the high price of gas is affecting the job market is the fact that relocation offers are beginning to suffer. In the past, it wasn��t too difficult to find employees who would relocate to urban areas, as they could find less expensive housing in the suburbs. This is no longer the case as the cost that they would incur driving back and forth to work would be crippling. When people do relocate, they are more often opting to rent out their current homes rather than selling them. This makes employers nervous that the new hires aren��t going to be too committed to their new job.
The companies that are making themselves prepared for this scenario are taking action to lessen the burden on their employees�� commute cost. They are organizing car pools, offering discounts on mass transit, and even offering telecommuting options for certain employees. In fact, telecommuting has been shown to attract applicants, lower their costs, and increase employee satisfaction. Employers are reluctant to engage in telecommuting too often though as they like to be able to keep an eye on their employees. Having such a distance between manager and employee can create problems.
Altogether, there are many reasons why the ever-rising gas prices are affecting the job market. One last reason is that the gas prices are affecting businesses too. Especially the cost of diesel has gone up which is causing many companies to have to find ways to cut costs. One such method will include hiring less people, and even laying some people off. Whoever you are, gas prices are surely affecting you and there seems to be no limit to which they will rise and they definitely don��t look like they will be dropping anytime soon.
