I am currently in a college town in the northwest, and while there was a point not too far back where fast food and restaurants were struggling to staff their stores (more than the usual amount they are horrifically understaffed) and I've been mass applying on and off for months towards “unskilled” part time labor to do alongside my other part time job. Despite changing up strategies, keep a variety of different unskilled labor apps, and expecting only a wage of 15 I've found that broadly I am unable to get callbacks, interviews, and when I do they tend to degrade when I expect 15 an hour or when I tell them I want part time work.
Currently there is the semester active in my college town, so a lot of unskilled labor is taken by college students looking to make rent alongside classes. The cost of living is also demonstrably lower than any larger city or even some towns in neighboring areas. That combo makes me feel like I am living in a different world than the broad narrative both on the left and the right about the “labor shortage” and the gains workers are seeing.
The only gains I can see are some major employers like target and Walmart that are doing company wide policy shift that has some of my roommates making better money, and seeing a more livable wage between 15 -20 becoming commonplace there. Some fast food has bumped to 15 or given a temp16 offer but I haven't been able to hear back from those locales.
Has anyone else felt like they haven't seen a lot of the increased bargaining power and increased wages discussed here and across the US because they live in a rural or college centric area?