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After The Kroger Co. announced Sept. 5 massive hiring plans to fill 20,000 jobs at grocery stores nationwide, the Journal-News asked local economic expert Michael Jones of University of Cincinnati's Economics Center what the pros and cons are behind the announcement.
Hiring plans include 1,200 positions available at Kroger stores throughout Cincinnati, Dayton and Springfield, according to the company.
But Jones says the hiring move is all positive and here’s why:
• A still-high jobless rate nationally.
“Right now our unemployment rate is higher than it should be,” said Jones, a research assistant professor in economics.
Experts believe full employment is when the unemployment rate is between 5 and 5.5 percent because there’s some natural level of unemployment that’s going to occur due to people moving between jobs and recent graduates, Jones said.
National unemployment currently rests at 6.2 percent, the most recently released figures.
“There’s still a lot of people out there looking for jobs,” he said. “The fact that there are 20,000 jobs available to be filled is certainly good for those people looking for work.”
• A signal of increased consumer spending
With consumer spending representing as much as 70 percent of the United States’ economy, Kroger adding 20,000 jobs on top of the 375,000 workers the Cincinnati-based retailer already employs acts as a vote of confidence in consumers’ wallets.
“It’s always a risk, and you’re banking on continued consumer demand in response to your announced job growth,” Jones said.
“I think they feel comfortable in anticipating future consumer spending.”
• Jobs as opportunities
While arguments could be made that retail jobs are typically lower-paying than other industries, Jones points out that applicants wouldn’t seek the work if it didn’t better their individual situation.
“If they have a job that pays a higher wage already or they have a better opportunity, they wouldn’t take the position,” he said.
“Even though a lot of these jobs may be lower paying, it gives an opportunity to people to prove themselves…to have a higher wage.”
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 75 represents about 17,700 Kroger employees in the Cincinnati-Dayton region.
“The bottom line is it’s always good when more people can get union jobs that guarantee annual raises and affordable benefits,” said UFCW spokeswoman Brigid Kelly.
If you're interested in applying for one of these Kroger jobs, go online to: www.kroger.com/careers.
Kroger spokeswoman Rachael Betzler said job fairs will be held at local stores in October, so stay tuned for more details.
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