to think that the more superfluous your job the more money you earn

[ohdobehave]

ie. nurse, social worker, mp, police officer, teacher, fireman, street sweeper, midwife, etc. pretty badly paid compared to ... footballer, actor, merchant banker, model, etc.
just wondering

"There are very few top calibre footballers or bankers, but there is a huge oversupply in nurses/teachers/carers. Thus the pay gap."

But we keep hearing about the national shortage of nurses and midwives...
So why don't wages go up to improve recruitment and retention???

"But we keep hearing about the national shortage of nurses and midwives...
So why don't wages go up to improve recruitment and retention???"

If demand outstrips supply for long enough, wages will go up.

Though I think there is a pool of foreign nursing and midwifery that can be employed to fill the gap, so perhaps not up by much!

"But we keep hearing about the national shortage of nurses and midwives... So why don't wages go up to improve recruitment and retention???"

In some cases, it's because they lower the standards required for the job or the calibre of those they accept.