Alongside rising food costs and staffing shortages in the restaurant industry on the First Coast, hotel owners and other businesses in the service industry are struggling, too.
One way to curb the shortages: job fairs.
About 75 local businesses have signed up for a virtual job fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, hosted by Career Source Northeast Florida in partnership with the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce.
Even though it will be virtual, Cathy Newman, economic development manager at the St. Johns County Chamber, told the Business Journal Monday that businesses are in need of the opportunity and looking to hire candidates directly from the fair.
“I think that as an employee, there’s a bigger potential for them going in,” she said. “They have an opportunity to take a look at different (jobs) available across a spectrum of different employers, and it opens the door more quickly for those types of jobs that need people.”
She said employers not only are having a hard time finding people to work but the right types of people for various hospitality positions.
“We have small businesses here in St. Johns County, so it’s really crucial to find people to fill these spots and fit into their culture,” she said. “The applicants have to fit into the overall feeling of the company, especially if it’s a business with 10 employees. So that might be part of why the (hospitality) and service industry is struggling right now.”
The difficulty in finding restaurant workers is well documented. But those in other parts of the hospitality industry are also in need. Newman said it’s also possible there’s a portion of the workforce that just isn’t ready to hit the ground running yet.
This shortage of workers isn’t unique to the First Coast, though, said Richard Goldman, CEO and president of St. Johns County visitors and convention bureau.
“The need to feel safe, the ease of collecting unemployment, the high cost of child care and the shortage of affordable housing have had a huge impact on the availability of hospitality workers,” he said in an email.
He also said employers are having a hard time keeping up with the rising demand in tourism post Covid-19.
“The problem is that there is still a shortage of workers,” Goldman said. “Hopefully (with the job fairs) employers are able to provide competitive wages and great incentives to workers, luring them back into the work place.”