[TeMPOraL]

Because employers are unavailable for comment. Few would be willing to say out loud that their business is bullshit, but makes money, simply because of negative PR effect.

That someone's willing to pay for it doesn't automatically imply the job is useful on the societal scale, and the latter is IMO a more important concept. There are plenty of businesses that can earn money even though everyone would be better off if those businesses weren't being done.

[sowbug]

My earlier comment assumes that value is measured in dollars. Denominating value in subjective units like "useful on the societal scale" would lead to different conclusions for anyone but the most die-hard capitalist.

[coldtea]

Note that TFA is about "meaningless jobs" not "profitless" ones.

[sowbug]

True, but the comment from danielvf that you replied to narrowed the discussion to economic value.