🦄 SVN: 40% of Hiring Managers Post Fake Jobs

Another weekend, another 2-5 day at the plate with a double, 2 rbis, and a very sore back. But less about my athletic superiority and more about the news that’s gonna make you sound smart. Let’s get into it.

This Week’s Piping 🔥⛺️ (Hot ‘Tent)

• 40% of Hiring Managers Posting Fake Jobs

• “AI” Al Michaels

• Private Equity Drives Vet Prices Up

• WNBA Franchises Skyrocketing Valuations

• More scorching hot ‘tent…

The Silly Valley

🧑‍💼 40% of Hiring Managers Have Posted Fake Jobs on LinkedIn in the Past Year. The unemployment rate hit 4% in May after 27 straight months at 3%, the longest streak since the 1960s. Nearly 8% of 20-24 year olds are unemployed, which is up from 6.3% a year ago. The number of Americans receiving recurring unemployment benefits has climbed to the highest level since November 2021. There are a lot of reasons why, but two big ones are incredibly stupid. First, 40% of hiring managers have posted fake jobs on LinkedIn. 85% of those say they’ve even interviewed people for these “ghost roles.” Second, AI tools that are supposed to speed up hiring have led to a 70% increase in applications which unsurprisingly makes it more time consuming for recruiters to review resumes. There are supposedly 1.5M more job openings than unemployed people, but clearly the amount of open jobs on career sites aren’t a true indicator.

🥇 NBC Will Use an AI-Generated Al Michaels for The Olympics. NBC will generate 10-minute highlight packages, including event updates and athlete backstories with Michael’s AI voice. The model was trained using Michaels' previous NBC broadcasts and will incorporate 5,000 hours of coverage. Al Michaels, initially skeptical, supported the project after seeing a demonstration, stating, "I’m in" after realizing that he was going to get paid (undisclosed) millions for doing absolutely nothing.

📱People Are Holding Onto iPhones Longer And Apple Is… Fine With That? For myriad reasons, the amount of people who keep their phone for 3 years or longer has risen from 6% in 2015 to 31% in 2024. After a down year of iPhone sales, Apple has cleverly spun the story as “Longevity by Design.” Their argument is a good one because not only are less phones better for their customers and the environment, but also because Apple’s services have a much higher gross profit margin than their hardware. One of their new services, AI obviously, will only be available on the iPhone 15 pro or later. Sooo yeah… Maybe they should just call it “Longevity by Design, but Please Still Keep Buying New Phones.”

Sales Tip of the Week

Outside the Bubble

🚑 Private Equity Is Making Vet Bills Higher. Veterinary prices have risen over 60% in the past decade due to high-tech care and corporate acquisitions. Private equity firms and large corporations have bought hundreds of veterinary facilities, pushing for higher efficiency and profits. Vets are often incentivized to see more pets, order more tests, and sell additional services to maximize profit. Unfortunately, this makes the rising cost of veterinary care unsustainable for many pet owners as only 3% have pet insurance. As much as you may want to, don’t blame your veterinarian who faces challenges such as high costs of drugs, vaccines, labor, as well as debt from education. On the bright side, since Veterinary Centers of America was purchased by Mars Inc in 2017, Mars has seen their revenue soar from $16B annually to $150B this past year. Yay rich people!

🏀 WNBA’s Valuations Are Skyrocketing, But Will The Players Benefit? In the past 3 seasons, average tv ratings for WNBA games have risen from 379K to 509K to a whopping 1.32M this season. Average attendance has risen from 5.6K to 7K over that same period. As a result, the average valuation for a WNBA franchise has more than doubled from $43M in 2022 to $96M today. So will player’s salaries finally increase? Yes and no. The WNBA has been kept afloat by the NBA to the tune of $10M per year and despite record attendance and ratings, that number is rising to $50M this year thanks to newly provided charter flights. The league also secured a $75M in outside investment in 2022 in exchange for 20% ownership of the league. While they’re generating more revenue than ever, they’re still not able to negotiate tv rights until after next season at which point they’ll be forced to pay back a lot of debt before that money gets into the hands of players. So while things are definitely looking up, there’s still a long way to go for the likes of stars like Caitlin Clark who’s only earning a $76K salary this year. A.k.a. an SDR who only hits quota half the time.

🚑 Rising Health Care Prices Are Costing People Jobs. Since most people receive health insurance through their employer, rising healthcare costs are now forcing some employers to make headcount reductions. New research indicates that a 1% increase in healthcare prices leads to a 0.4% decrease in headcount. For the average county, that same 1% increase in prices reduced income by approximately $8M annually. More unfortunate is the affected jobs are concentrated among people earning less than $100,000. The National Bureau of Economic Research previously found that over the past two decades, hospital mergers increased prices by 5% on average. Something federal regulators could’ve challenged, but didn’t. Thus the US healthcare racket presses on…

Last Week’s Piping 🔥⛺️ (Hot ‘Tent)

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