While the shortage of capable staff is often because of too low of wages, a Industry expert says the problem is so widespread that it’s affecting recruitment for very high-paying positions.
Restaurants in casinos like The Mirage, Wynn and Caesars Palace have had recruiters get in touch with him, saying they’re actively seeking staff. Some of the open positions, he said, pay six figures and offer benefits.
Unfortunately, though, leaders in the Republican Party are pushing an alternate reality in which the extra unemployment benefits in President Joe Biden’s pandemic relief package are crippling employers in their efforts to fill jobs. In this GOP myth, getting enhanced benefits of $300 a week is enough to spoil Americans and make them content with doing nothing.
Mark Steele, founder of the Restaurant Hospitality Institute had this to add:
“There’s restaurants and casinos that, people who would have given an arm and a leg to work for two years ago, now are begging for employees,” said Steele. “These were all, some are union jobs, or very good, high-paying jobs, that you know, you had to know someone to even get an interview or to put an application in, where you never know if someone’s even gonna see. And now these places are actively out and giving bonuses to get people on board, so it’s unlike anything I’ve even seen before.”
Steele said he believes it’s partly because during the shutdowns, older restaurant employees, ones with decades of experience, may have decided to retire if they were close already.
She explains that labor shortages are not due to lack of effort. Public interviews are held three days a week and job listings are published online.
The worker shortage is also affecting restaurants across the U.S. The National Restaurant Association has reported the eating and drinking industry shed 2.5 million jobs in 2020. Federal data show nearly 1.4 million job openings in the restaurant and hotel sector in April.