What the hell do people do in this town for a living and how do they get by?

It’s a serious question. I just heard some type of call center commercial on the radio and it got me thinking about my boyfriend and his job search lately. His resume is on Career Builder and so is mine and probably yours for that matter. But I never get serious offers from any company, of course, I’m also not looking. He doesn’t either but the difference is he is looking. All he gets are calls from people who only want to pay $10.50 an hour and they’re even rude about it! The last call he got like that he told the guy to come up in price a bit and the guy muttered something rude and hung up. Then he gets calls from collection agencies wanting him to work there, or customer service jobs, which he’s already done and hates. They don’t pay well and their benefits are sad. Is he just having run-ins with bad, cheap employers, or it this what it is like for the majority of job searchers out there? Does anyone pay more than $10-12 and hour anymore? How do people pay rent on that? Prices have gone up on rent around here, the price of gas has gone up, the price of food, my health insurance just went up, my Cox bill went up – I know I’m not the only one. The cost of living isn’t getting any cheaper, but employers are.