The restaurant industry continues to face hurdles with the pandemic but instead of a lack of customers, it’s employees. Louisiana Restaurant Association President Stan Harris said members are having trouble finding enough workers.
“Eighty-three percent of them have job openings that they are really having trouble filling, and they say ninety-three percent of them feel like recruiting and retaining is going to be as difficult after the pandemic as it was currently,” said Harris.
A survey of association members indicates more than 60-percent of restaurants are having to pay significantly higher wages and 20-percent of those establishments are having to pay workers 15 to 20-percent more in wages than before the pandemic.
Harris said boosted unemployment benefits are hurting the industry.
“There’s not a lot that we can do to remedy it. These benefits from the Federal government are going to extend through early September and we feel like we’re going to be under a great deal of stress for that time,” said Harris.
Not only has the pandemic caused a worker shortage for restaurants, but Harris also said they are faced with paying more in wages, an increase in the cost of products, and…
“Faced with the cost of occupancy because of the cleaning and sanitation and all of the other things you have to do to operate in a COVID environment safely. It’s raising the cost and I think you’re going to see some of it in some menu pricing,” said Harris.
Harris urges customers to be patient as restaurants continue to struggle.
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