Apparently there’s a shortage of Santa helpers this Christmas.
No doubt many people my age would have patted their well rounded belly and thought, well, I have the right body shape, maybe I should give it a go.
All in the line of duty, of course. To help the country out in its hour of need and all that.
It seems a little weird, but there’s labor shortages across the board.
Yesterday, just to confuse us even more, the national unemployment rate went up.
Yet hospitality businesses in particularly, are desperate for staff, making the mystery even more mysterious.
How can it be that all these places had plenty of staff before the pandemic, but now can’t find anyone to pull a beer in a bar or flip a burger in a grill.
We know that immigration to our country stalled during the two years of the pandemic, but it doesn’t explain this contradiction of unemployment and huge number of vacancies.
I am sure some of our clever readers will explain all to us, so here’s cheers to feedback.
As for me, well I am dreaming about the opportunity of a lifetime – tick off jobs I always wanted to have a bash at but couldn’t for whatever reason.
Mainly I guess because you have to stay at a job for a reasonable amount of time, and who’s got time for that.
My Top 5 jobs would be:
Number 1. You guessed it, Santa’s helper.
Number 2. Bartender, so I can make exquisite cocktails just like Tom Cruise and our very own Bryan Brown in that movie from a long time ago.
Number 3. Garbo, but not the modern ones that just pick up and empty bins from the comfort of their trucks. Would have loved to be the member of the team who ran along the truck, picked up those old tin bins and emptied them. Finished by 10am and straight to the early opener for a beer. Grateful householders gave them slabs of beer for Christmas. How fab.
Number 4. Soldier. To learn about self discipline and duty. I may be a little late for that.
Number 5. Spy. I wonder if ASIO is as short of staff as my local pub at the moment.
