One difference we noticed between Europe and St. Kitts is that there are lots more people doing low-end jobs here. By low-end, I mean jobs that simply don't exist in Europe.

In European supermarkets I've been to - Slovenian at least - you always need to bag your own groceries. You are pretty much in competition with the cashier in whether you'll be able to bag the groceries in time for them to pass you the bill. In St. Kitts, there's almost always someone there to bag the groceries for you. Sometimes there is more than one person. Sometimes there's even someone who helps you take the groceries to the car - all jobs that don't exist in Europe.

Then there's the local Marriott hotel, which appears to have built a parking lot insufficient for its current popularity. On the busier evenings, people parked all over the place, making the parking lot impossible to navigate. What would a European manager do? Install an expensive ramp to count the number of cars and refuse entry when the parking lot is full. What does the St. Kitts Marriott do? They have a guy standing there all evening, and he lets you in if there are parking spaces available, and doesn't let you in if it is full.

Why do these jobs exist in St. Kitts, but they don't exist in Europe? Why do Europeans employ machinery for the same purpose Kittitians employ people? Is it technological backwardness? That's probably a factor - equipment is more difficult to get here, to install, and to maintain. But if that were all, why do St. Kitts customers get groceries bagged for them, while European customers must do without?

Perhaps the answer might have something to do with the government being keen to see local companies employ more people. But - governments like to see companies employ more people everywhere.

I propose that European stores do not have people bagging groceries for you because of two things:
  1. Minimum wage.
  2. Laws make it difficult to fire people.
If laws make it difficult for you to manage your workforce, and you have the option to choose either a person or machinery, you'll choose machinery. If the machinery malfunctions, it can be fixed. A faulty worker can't be fixed, and European legislation makes it hard indeed to get rid of a worker who is not operating properly. Hence no job for the worker.

That, and the minimum wage, make it more efficient to replace a person with a machine, or to even not provide an unessential service, to the detriment of all.