Not to mention it's more difficult for workers to get better conditions if there is high unemployment as there's always that threat hanging over your head...It's easier to demand a better job & pay if labour is scarce, not so much if there's a large "industrial reserve army"... And we can't have the proletariat demanding better conditions can we? Might cut into the profits of the capitalists, and that's just not on is it? [/marxian analysis]
Exactly. I've seen this in small town Ohio -not many jobs exist anymore, so the ones that still exist have become more competitive and some tend to overwork their employers and they are often treated worse (the company can always find more willing workers because jobs are so scarce). This is why I moved the hell out of that region!
But I still visit different small towns and it's always the same -some working seven days a week (one guy worked the entire summer with only one day off, for example) and sever others went through cycles of working for a few months, getting laid off, having to take crappier jobs in the meantime (as in worse conditions).
A few years ago, I had no choice but to take a job in one of those small towns at what was considered a nice place to work...it was not fun. The work hours were ok and the conditions weren't bad, but the pay was shit and everyone yelled at each other all the time -even the people in the office! I probably heard a loud, cuss-filled argument about once a week...and I was in the office area! Terrible communication and people skills! Ditched that place and headed to an urban area in short order.