I'm 25 and have been mostly unemployed since march 2020. I've done one IT contract since then that lasted a week. The minimum wage in my state is 7.25. There is no way I'm working for less than 15 an hour. Any less then that and its a starvation wage.
Most of the available jobs pay around 9$ an hour. Any job in retail? expect to be in poverty. Why would I work just to stay in poverty? A job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it. Sometimes I feel bad, and embarrassed, because I don't have a job. I feel like I'm not worth love or friendship because I'm jobless or “useless”. This view from society that seems to link worth to income has grown inside me to help develop insecurity.
I've been in college for a few years now, because the only jobs that are worth the pay are “skilled” labor jobs. Almost done the degree, but god it's so lonely being poor and embarrassed to be poor. If jobs paid a decent wage I would have been working through college. This capitalist BS pushes people who would otherwise work to hold off until they can find a decent paying job, which usually requires years of school and training. And the skill could be developed in a year, but you need that piece of paper degree if you want a call back for an interview.