After widespread forced business closures last year followed by months of paying people to stay at home and NOT work, how distorted and out-of-whack has the labor market become? This distorted and out-of-whack:
A McDonald's in Medford, Oregon has a banner out front advertising that it is hiring 14 and 15-year-old workers.
"There are always staffing issues, but this is unheard of," the Biddle Road restaurant operator, Heather Coleman, told Insider. She said the situation is unique in her family's 40-year history operating McDonald's franchises.
Now, you might think this sounds like the opening to a corny Disney movie: A scrappy band of misfit teenagers takes over the Biddle Road McDonald's, spills milkshakes everywhere, accidentally serves a customer a deep-fried yogurt & parfait burger, and learns several heartwarming and valuable lessons along the way.
But it's not like that at all. These youngsters are actually pretty solid right out of the gate!
The young workers have been "a blessing in disguise," Coleman said. "They have the drive and work ethic, they get the technology. They catch on really quickly."
While raising the minimum wage to $15 didn't bring in as many applicants as she'd hoped, opening the doors to 14 and 15-year-olds brought in about 25 new applications in two weeks, she said.
How about that: the kids really are all right. Good for them.
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