BUCKINGHAM, Fla. — Some southwest Florida businesses say they are still having a hard time finding workers. One restaurant was forced to close on Monday in order to give their current employees a break.
Rum Bucket Bar and Grill in Buckingham has close to 40 employees, and the owner says they need more to fully open.
"I have a feeling we turned away a lot of business today," said Shauna Shows, owner of the Rum Bucket. "It's heartbreaking."
She believes the hiring issues has been a constant for about two years, well before Hurricane Ian hit.
"Our highest demand and priority right now is the kitchen, the back of the house," Shows said. "More staff would be great. We could easily employ 10 to 12 more."
The worker shortage is a challenge for restaurants across southwest Florida, like Blue Dog in Matlacha. Who also reopened, and said they can easily hire 10 to 15 more people.
Shows thinks the issues comes back to the housing crisis and childcare for families.
"I do think a lot of people have been displaced, and there's less and less rentals available," she explained.
Brian Hamman, CEO of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, believes it comes back to who isn't looking for work. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, three million people are not participating in the workforce.
"When you have that few people looking for work and you have that many jobs opening, it really creates a hard time for the employers looking for employees," he said.
Besides job fairs and social media, Hamman says workers who lost their jobs because of Ian could need help. In total, the latest federal numbers from November, show Lee County has about 13,000 people who are unemployed.
"There are more jobs open than there are employees to fill them," Hamman said.
Despite the worker shortage, Hamman says businesses are reporting strong visitor spending this year, fueling our economy after Ian. However, more employees is what's going to help restaurants like Rum Bucket.
To fill the gap, Shows brought over her employees from the Arcadia location. Which sustained damage from Ian, meaning employees cannot work there. Some employees are driving 30 to 45 minutes to work in Buckingham.
"The more we get, the more we can grow," Shows said. "If we don't get more people we'll continue to adapt and be successful in just other ways."
Shows says people are applying, but when it comes down to the interview most applicants are not showing up.
If you would like to apply, Shows says to simply visit their location and ask for a manager.
