Fake labor shortages redux

This appeared at one of my favorite blogs:

Illusion of Prosperity: Quote of the Day

"Most restaurateurs know there are simply not enough qualified applicants for the positions they need to fill."

The fake labor shortage meme appears again.  The qualifications for restaurant jobs are minimal; how can anyone say there aren't qualified applicants with a straight face?

Here's another example:

Shortage of Qualified Employees Poses Big Challenge | BusinessNewsDaily.com

"Despite all the talk of high unemployment rates, business owners say that finding qualified employees is one of their biggest challenges.  Those were the findings of the 2011 HireRight Employment Screening Benchmarking Report, which indicated that 49 percent of respondents listed finding and retaining qualified employees as a top business challenge. That's the same number that named cost-cutting as their biggest challenge."

And one more example:

Skilled Workers In Demand As Companies Face Talent Shortages

"May 29 (Reuters) - The United States and other large economies cannot find enough skilled workers, engineers and other in-demand employees, according to an annual study on talent shortages.
The study, by staffing services giant ManpowerGroup, found 34 percent of employers around the world report trouble filling jobs because of a lack of available talent. "


If there really were shortages, wages would be going up and unemployment would be going down.

Instead we have sixty four consecutive weeks in which initial unemployment claims have been revised up from the first estimate.

 I think the meme is used as an excuse to justify offshoring of jobs. If corporations can point to news sources/studies showing a shortage, they can justify offshoring by claiming a lack of qualified applicants domestically.
 
A Google search using the search terms "not enough qualified applicants" 2012 turns up roughly 33,000 results.  This concept is being systematically propagated, and is harmful to people considering college and career choices.