The Lack of Available Workers a Rising Concern

Just when the pandemic led us to believe we’ve seen it all, many businesses are now facing an issue completely novel in anyone’s memory.

Lack of available workers is a rising concern across the country. And let’s be clear, I’m not talking about the issue of a tight labor market making it difficult for businesses to expand or fill out their workforce. No, this is something completely new.

About six weeks ago, I began to notice reports from across the United States about businesses having trouble hiring and keeping enough employees to even open their doors. Business owners were talking about their inability to have a staff large enough to keep their doors open. Many of these businesses are small and many are in the hospitality industry and pay wages significantly above minimum wage.

Then local friends began relaying stories to me about recent travels in which they experienced long waits at restaurants because of short staffing. And it soon after made its way to the area as local media covered the closing of a few local establishments for the same reason.

So, why and what do we do moving forward? Are policy decisions affecting the workforce? Certainly we all have our own opinions, but let me suggest something we can all do.

A sign in a Mississippi restaurant states, “We are short staffed. Please be patient with the staff that did show up.” Yes, let’s celebrate ALL work and ALL jobs.