Housekeepers make $150K a year in these Florida cities here's why salaries have skyrocketed

Published

3 weeks ago

May 27, 2024

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Cleaners in South Florida are sweeping up the cash.

Housekeepers in South Florida are making about $150,000 a year as the influx of new, rich residents has created bidding wars for high-end cleaners, staffing companies told NBC News.

I have been placing staff for 30 years, and Ive never seen anything like this, said April Berube, founder of the Wellington Agency, which places household staff in the Sunshine State, New York and other locations.

Weve seen such a boom from people relocating, especially Palm Beach and Miami.

In recent years, Florida has been flooded with new residents from New York and other high-tax states rushing to take advantage of the state having no individual income tax.

More than 91,000 New Yorkers left the Empire State in 2022 alone to relocate to Florida, according toCensus Bureau data.

And now that the houses have been filled, they need to be cleaned.

For housekeepers its wonderful, Berube said. For us, its extremely difficult. Its a severe shortage.

Mansions, hotels, resorts and businesses are all competing for cleaning staff shooting up the prices for these positions.

Pay for housekeepers has rocketed from about $25 an hour in 2020 to $45 or $50 an hour today, according to some agencies.

In Palm Beach, housekeepers with experience in wealthy homes are typically making between $120,000 and $150,000 a year, along with 401(k) plans, health care and other benefits, including overtime.

Melissa Psitos, the founder of Lily Pond Services, told NBC News that she recently had a client in the area hire a head housekeeper for $250,000 a year, including overtime, and the worker travels with the family to their other homes.

At first theyre in shock, and they say, No way Im paying that, Berube explained. Its even uncomfortable for me to give them the numbers. But when they try to hire someone for less, with less experience, they almost always come back to us and say, I learned my lesson. We are willing to pay for the experience.

She noted that housekeepers of this caliber need specific tools and skills, such as moving quietly and unnoticed and knowing how to carefully clean antiques, which makes the hiring pool much smaller than the demand.

There is just not enough supply, she said.

World

11 people dead and dozens missing after two shipwrecks off coast of Italy

Published

26 seconds ago

June 17, 2024

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11 people dead and dozens missing after two shipwrecks off coast of Italy

At least 11 people have died and dozens are missing after two ships were wrecked off the coast of southern Italy.

A rescue ship run by a German aid group picked up 51 people thought to be migrants from a sinking wooden vessel in the first of two shipwrecks.

RESQSHIP said two of the 51 were unconscious and had to be “cut free with an axe”.

Ten bodies were found trapped on the wooden ship’s flooded lower deck near the island of Lampedusa, the organisation added. No one is believed to be missing.

“Our thoughts are with their families. We are angry and sad,” it wrote on X.

Those on board came from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Organisation for Migration and UNICEF said in a joint statement.

The survivors were handed over to the Italian coast guard and taken ashore, RESQSHIP said.

Its own ship, the Nadir, towed the wooden boat containing the bodies of the deceased to the island of Lampedusa.

The second shipwreck took place about 125 miles east of the Italian region of Calabria, after a yacht that had set off from Turkey eight days earlier caught fire and overturned, UN agencies said.

Twelve migrants were picked up, the Italian coastguard said.

A woman among them who is thought to have fallen into the water died immediately after landing.

The others are in a serious condition, Vittorio Zito, mayor of the town of Roccella said.

The survivors said 66 people were missing, including 26 children, “some of them very young”, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in Roccella told Sky News.

It is likely that entire families from Afghanistan lost their lives, the medical organisation added.

The yacht may have been taking on water for three or four days, while those on board were not wearing life jackets, MSF said.

Some passing vessels did not stop to help, survivors said.

Migrants involved in the shipwreck off Calabria came from Iran, Iraq and Syria, agencies added.

A French vessel heard a mayday call in the Italian search and rescue area.

The Italian Coast Guard sent several units to the scene and took 12 people, including a pregnant woman and two children, to Roccella.

Two Coast Guard patrol boats are searching for survivors, while an aircraft has also been deployed.

EU border agency Frontex is also involved.

Politics

Former SEC official David Hirsch says he is not joining pump.fun

Published

28 mins ago

June 17, 2024

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Former SEC official David Hirsch says he is not joining pump.fun

Rumors have been circulating that the recently retired SEC veteran was taking on a private role in the digital asset sector.

Entertainment

Dario G star Paul Spencer dies aged 53 after cancer diagnosis

Published

52 mins ago

June 17, 2024

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Dario G star Paul Spencer dies aged 53 after cancer diagnosis

Dario G star Paul Spencer has died at the age of 53 following a cancer diagnosis.

The dance producer, whose hits included Sunchyme and Carnaval de Paris, was diagnosed with stage four rectal cancer in 2023 and regularly posted about his condition on social media.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Paul Spencer earlier today,” the musician’s family said as they announced the news on social media.

“He was positive until the end but this was one battle he could not fight anymore. He leaves behind a wonderful musical legacy and many happy memories for many people.

“He will be sadly missed by everyone who loved him. Shine bright our big star.”

Fellow musicians have paid tribute to Spencer in the comments section below the post.

Electronic duo Phats and Small wrote: “Lost for words. One of the good guys, you’ll be missed brother.”

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