The last time Steven Leamon listed a job opening for the Nautical Mile market in Hanover, he had nine people lined up for an interview. Three never showed up, and the other six asked if he would be willing to pay them under the table, in cash.
Lisa Stewart, who runs Emma Lisa's Breakfast & Lunch in Quincy, has had two people inquire about a job listing she posted to Craigslist two months ago. Pre-pandemic, each online listing brought in more than a dozen responses within days.
Tracy Vaughan said hiring wait staff and bartenders for her Marshfield restaurant The Jetty has been nearly impossible since last summer, and she is nervous for when summer crowds flood Brant Rock in the coming months.
"It could have a real impact in terms of being able to provide the service," Vaughan said. "Even last Saturday, when the weather was gorgeous, we got a taste of it. People may understand not being able to provide that level of good service once or twice, but they won't understand it on an ongoing basis."
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The reopening of much of the nation's economy has led to a surge in job openings over the last several months, but potential workers have not stepped up to meet the demand. In March, 42 percent of small businesses surveyed said they had job openings they couldn't fill, a record high, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
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When the coronavirus crisis essentially split the economy in half, industries that catered to people living, working and shopping from home saw levels of success many never would have imagined. But sectors that depend on in-person services, such as restaurants, were decimated and companies are now jostling to hire as the industries attempt to bounce back.
"It's not just my industry, it's the landscapers and the house painters and other people who aren't getting any help," said Mark Beaton, who owns The Charlie Horse restaurant in Kingston. "I'm hearing people say they have to turn away customers and turn away business because they don't have the employees to get jobs done. This coronavirus has just compounded all the problems we had before. It's a huge fog over the industry."
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At the same time as the surge in open positions, about 4 million Americans have stopped working or looking for jobs the past year because they fear contracting COVID-19, are caring for children or sick relatives, or other reasons, Labor Department figures show.
Other people, local restaurant owners says, are turning down offers or asking to be paid in cash because they don't want to give up unemployment benefits that include a $300 federal bonus under Congress' COVID-19 relief package. That makes hiring a challenge even with a relatively high 6 percent unemployment rate.
"We're all in the same boat and it's unfortunate that the government is giving out this free money," Leamon, of Nautical Mile, said. "People don't realize this extra money is temporary, that it's not going to go forever and they're going to need jobs again. We can't run our businesses without employees. It doesn't mater where you are. If you drive down any major route you're going to see help wanted signs in the windows."
Restaurants struggle getting people back to work
Beaton says unemployment benefits, coupled with the federal bonus, have created an "underground economy" of workers managing to both collect federal benefits and earn cash from working in restaurants. The Kingston business owner said he had to let staff go at the start of the pandemic, and tried to call them back in when The Charlie Horse could reopen.
"We called them up and they said, 'We're getting paid cash, under the table,' and there is just no way we can match that," Beaton said. "It's a real problem. We have good benefits and we pay well, relatively speaking, but it doesn't matter."
Stewart, who said a steady group of "core" employees saved her this year, is also struggling.
She said several people started working, quit and then tried to file for unemployment. She said people who've worked for her part time in the past are getting more and more picky about schedules and assignments, and that others have said they can't come back because they're working jobs under the table elsewhere.
"It's kind of a phenomenon. I don't know what is going on," she said. "No matter where you go, there are 'Now Hiring' signs. It's a problem everyone is dealing with."
Vaughan from The Jetty said she thinks it's a combination of things that have made it hard to find help: unemployment benefits, service workers waiting to be vaccinated and people who "are just not ready to get back into it after being put through the ringer this year."
After his poor luck with hiring, Leamon took to Facebook and posted a graphic reading "Nautical Mile now hiring all positions 267,131 people unemployed EVERYONE hiring get off your asses and work stop the free ride." He ultimately took the post down after local backlash, but did manage to fill the three open positions he had.
Leamon said the market will be looking for more help as fishing season picks up.
Vaughan and Stewart said the same about wait staff and bartenders: They'll be needed more than ever when outdoor summer dining is in full force. Beaton is in the market for four or five more kitchen staff and six to eight more waiters and waitresses.
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"The last few months I was the manager on duty, the owner and the dishwasher," Beaton said. "I'm only able to open five days per week and can't open more because I don't have the staff. The help that I have here is working really hard, but there aren't enough of them."
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Information from USA Today reporter Paul Davidson was used in this report. Reach Mary Whitfill at mwhitfill@patriotledger.com.
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