Reality Cheque!

A couple of years ago a young woman with whom i worked announced that she was moving jobs as she felt that her 30,000 pa salary wasnt sufficient remuneration for answering the phone and inputting sales orders. You see, she had awarded herself the grand title of Account Exec and felt that such a title entitled her to a wage of 35,000. My gut feeling at the time was that the role should realistically be paying 10 thousand less per year but my colleagues considered this a sign that I was from a previous generation totally out of touch with the reality of the celtic tiger. I belived that I was right and I have been proved so. Wages in the private sector have tumbled since then and should this young woman now take her experience and skills to a new employer she would be lucky to make 25,000 pa. I am prepared to work at the lower rate and since I did'nt borrow in the good times I can afford to work for that. In the coming months a new wave of jobseekers will come on the market with lower salary expectations. Private sector employers know this. Right now they are culling their workforces in the knowledge that should markets improve down the road they will be able to re-hire at a lower rate. I can live with that reality but can my ex-colleague? She now finds herself servicing debts taken on the strength of an unrealistic wage. Should oil prices and interest rates increase in the future then she and thousands like her will be in big trouble. This is the reality that will be hitting the purses and pockets of the nation in the coming years.