Specialty Business Owners Struggle to Find Workers

Seventy-year-old small business owner Charlie Davis drives down a scenic backroad every morning to his boat repair shop, Fountain of Youth in North Prairie, Wis. Davis has owned his business for over 34 years and it was deemed essential during the pandemic. However, finding qualified staff to work on the machines in his shop has remained a challenge.

For Davis, there is little competition when it comes to business since his is one of few boat repair shops. However, the lack of competition comes at a cost, as there is a long list of clients hoping to have their boats serviced before summer. In most cases this would be a good thing. But with a small team and no new hires, Davis wonders how long employee shortages will last.

“I talk to a lot of small business owners and virtually all of them have the same problem,” he said. “You just can’t find any help. No one’s applying and if they are, they’ll show up for an interview and then they’re gone for good.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published a report in March showing the number of job openings in the United States was at a high of 11.5 million. 4.5 million people quit within March of 2022, varying from professional and business to construction services.

“I have no idea what happened to everyone who used to work,” said Davis. “I know that pre pandemic, people would shift from one occupation to another, but you could still fill the positions after workers left. Now, you can’t, and it’s not isolated to one industry. I have no idea what happened to all those people, I mean they’re out there, but I don’t know where they could be [working.]”

White House Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the speculation surrounding unemployment benefits contributing to job vacancies across the nation. Pierre concluded in 2021, that there is little evidence showing unemployment benefits are a factor in continued mass labor shortages.

This conclusion continues to be supported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting’s of unemployment rates decreasing from 14.8% in April of 2020, to 3.6% in April of 2022.

However, Sam Krueger, a service writer and assistant manager of Brookfield Auto Care in Brookfield Wis. has faced similar challenges to Davis. Since the pandemic, there are not enough employees to keep up with common jobs, which keeps staff employed that should be replaced but can’t be.

Krueger believes that unemployment is responsible for the lack of employees as people will call for interviews, but never show up. Krueger also believes that those who used to work for companies like his are doing the same work in their driveways for cash instead.

“There’s a frequency of people not wanting to settle for starting wages even when they don’t have the best qualifications,” said Krueger. “Working up the company ladder isn’t a thing anyone wants to do anymore. A lot of people are comfortable taking advantage of low-income assistance programs.”

Krueger also believes that material shortages make it even more difficult for small businesses to function while short staffed.

“It’s [staffing shortages] impacting all the locations, but mainly mine which is a smaller shop,” said Kruger. “There’s so much availability for people to get government assistance and not want to work. On top of material shortages? Every day is a long day.”

Chief Economist Nela Richardson at ADP, a research institute focused on the labor market and employee performance research, finds businesses responsible for labor shortages. Richardson argues that if the businesses were to restructure and compensate effectively, they would be staffed.

Wish Waraich, a Q&A specialist at an insurance technology startup out of Madison Wis, voiced similar thoughts to Richardson.

“A lot of people, especially front-line workers, realized their time was more valuable than $8 an hour during the pandemic,” said Waraich. ”I believe businesses that are really struggling to find staff are not offering their employees enough compensation or are not offering a decent benefits package.”