Record Labour Shortages in Restaurant Industry

[MAPearce]

I’m curious if anyone else thinks that perhaps a whack of people retired due to the pandemic and there has been a leveling-up of sorts in the workforce. The largest generation in modern history is getting set to retire. Market forces, baby, market forces.

I'm thinking they're shifting into something more stable .

Back in my service industry days , I'd go to work not knowing if I'd make 100 or 200 bucks or having to pay to be there . So I went to work Monday to Friday 9 to 5 for xx per hours . Every two weeks I'd get a paycheck with a guaranteed amount of money ..

Now with Covid , you don't even know if you're going to work at all never mind asshat customers you're going to have to deal with ..

Best . move . EVER .

[nucksRnum1]

Ugh, this again? It's not a free market when the government is competing with business - which is what they're doing by paying people the CRB.

CRB ---> payments from the government for doing nothing ---> socialism ---> NOT free market

~

Competition is a good thing for the market. Maybe all the businesses should form a union. After all - the government is too much competition.

[Rejigger]

Competition is a good thing for the market. Maybe all the businesses should form a union. After all - the government is too much competition.

Businesses are competing against the government to attract employees. Businesses are not competing against the government for the sale of products or services. The fact that the government is paying people to do nothing disincentivizes those people from working and, therefore, interferes with a business' ability to provide its products and services.

~

[nucksRnum1]

Competition is a good thing for the market. Maybe all the businesses should form a union. After all - the government is too much competition.

Businesses are competing against the government to attract employees. Businesses are not competing against the government for the sale of products or services. The fact that the government is paying people to do nothing disincentivizes those people from working and, therefore, interferes with a business' ability to provide its products and services.

~

And for a generation, the government was propping up businesses. That ship has sailed. Let it go. People are a bigger currency than leeches calling themselves businesses exploiting people. The time of artificially propping up a broken system should just be allowed to die.

[Rejigger]

People are a bigger currency than leeches calling themselves businesses exploiting people.

^What the heck is this? Are you getting your posts from an internet random phrase generator?
Are you saying you aren't happy with what Trudeau has done over the past 6 years?
~

[Even Steven]

The millenials are all in their 30's and 40's now, well established in their careers, with mortgages to pay and kids to feed. Oops.

I'm a millennial. But I see lots of people my age being complete useless bodies. Bouncing from job to job, no accomplishments of any kind, no promotions because they're just aimlessly going through the motion, waiting for "the big break". And of course it's all boomers fault because they apparently ruined the economy, climate, and the country.

What boomers are stopping them from being on time every morning and being less of a complainy Nancy Pants I don't know...doesn't cost you anything to be good at your job. But most have this mentality "I'm not being paid what I'm worth so I'm not going to put any effort".

The thought that they're not worth much because they're not putting any effort never crosses their mind.

And then I have a 24 year old who doesn't have any education but has lots of drive to succeed and work hard who makes over $30/hour and who will be offered partial ownership of the company through sweat equity later next year at a different location somewhere in US so will be making close to $120K/year in a couple of years. So, not all millenials are like that. Lots of opportunities for right people. Unfortunately they're a minority. 80/20 rule.

[nucksRnum1]

People are a bigger currency than leeches calling themselves businesses exploiting people.

^What the heck is this? Are you getting your posts from an internet random phrase generator?
Are you saying you aren't happy with what Trudeau has done over the past 6 years?
~

No, on the contrary. Trudeau Liberals have provided good policy and government. Despite the stumbles.

[GordonH]

^^^ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WRK03q76GKU

[fluffy]

I’m curious if anyone else thinks that perhaps a whack of people retired due to the pandemic and there has been a leveling-up of sorts in the workforce. The largest generation in modern history is getting set to retire. Market forces, baby, market forces.

I wondered about that, and it does appear as though the pandemic has caused a spike in retirement, both voluntary and otherwise. We're about in the middle of the twenty year window that will see baby boomers reach retirement age, but figures are showing a lot more actually retiring in the last year compared to the years preceding the pandemic. Some have been working past retirement but not a huge number. I had planned to retire in early 2021 when I hit 65, but had my hours cut when the pandemic hit. I stayed on an extra four months to hit the financial targets I had planned on hitting by retirement , but that's not a big deal. I can pretty much say that the pandemic didn't affect my retirement plans by much. What concerns me is that we have known that the "gray wave" has been coming for years, but not a whole lot of prep went into it. Some of the workforce shortages we are having now must be due to aging boomers, and the load on the healthcare system will continue to climb.

[Queen K]

Community Health Care workers who started years ago are now retiring due to age and unpalatable system changes.

These are the people who ensure the pressures on carehomes are alleviated. But guess what? Like restaurants, young people in the medical side of work have other choices, many more in fact than when I started 30 years ago.

Simply put, more carehomes have opened providing a steady way to make a living without putting mileage on your vehicle. Guess where careaids today are chosing to make a living? Not homecare. We are experiencing the greatest worker shortage I have ever seen and that is saying something after 30 years.

UNLIKE a restaurant worker, a CHW has a capacity to clear an awful lot of money per month for the work that it is. Not quite nursing, not at all housework. More like people work. But like restaurants, IH can not get enough care aids to be hired and stay. STAY! Nope, they work for a while and move on, some take lines of work but have to supplement that with other jobs, thus are not available for the unending openings per day to be filled.

So grey wave, not enough at home assistance, pressures on actual assisted living residences, NOT TO BE confused with resort retirement places, they are not carehomes people!

So ya, restaurants aren't the only place desparate for workers.

[AlienSoldier]

Community Health Care workers who started years ago are now retiring due to age and unpalatable system changes.

These are the people who ensure the pressures on carehomes are alleviated. But guess what? Like restaurants, young people in the medical side of work have other choices, many more in fact than when I started 30 years ago.

Simply put, more carehomes have opened providing a steady way to make a living without putting mileage on your vehicle. Guess where careaids today are chosing to make a living? Not homecare. We are experiencing the greatest worker shortage I have ever seen and that is saying something after 30 years.

UNLIKE a restaurant worker, a CHW has a capacity to clear an awful lot of money per month for the work that it is. Not quite nursing, not at all housework. More like people work. But like restaurants, IH can not get enough care aids to be hired and stay. STAY! Nope, they work for a while and move on, some take lines of work but have to supplement that with other jobs, thus are not available for the unending openings per day to be filled.

So grey wave, not enough at home assistance, pressures on actual assisted living residences, NOT TO BE confused with resort retirement places, they are not carehomes people!

So ya, restaurants aren't the only place desparate for workers.

It's every field. Doctors, Engineers, Nurses, Restaurants, manufacturing that is feeling the pinch. I have seen half of one of my departments retire or start to retire. Companies will compete for talent, or get what's left over. No sense in complaining and pitting millennials vs. boomers, vs. Gen Z. As society has changed, priorities have changed and so has awareness of what people want in life.

[kgcayenne]

priorities have changed and so has awareness of what people want in life.

So, people no longer want to sell themselves out to the low-skilled employers when there are many jobs out there to secure that bear rewards of contribution towards something beyond Karen and Chad’s vay-cay dinners out.

[Queen K]

I am stating facts, not word about any generation pitting in my post. There are not enough workers: period.

[AlienSoldier]

I am stating facts, not word about any generation pitting in my post. There are not enough workers: period.

Are there not enough workers, or to many jobs? lol

[Ka-El]

I am stating facts, not word about any generation pitting in my post. There are not enough workers: period.

Are there not enough workers, or to many jobs?

Both, I suspect. What should be annoying, as many others have pointed out, is that we knew this demographic change was coming years ago. COVID has obviously played a role as well, but these demographic changes were already well underway. Canada needs more immigrants, and we need to start educating (removing barriers to post-secondary education) and training (eg. funded apprenticeships) people to fill these jobs and both business and government (us) need to play a role.