Help wanted signs are everywhere in Powell River and businesses in the region are struggling to secure enough staff to keep up.
“Employees are in demand across sectors,” said Career Link manager Brodie D’Angio. “It's a jobseekers market.”
Locally, jobs are going unfilled with some being advertised repeatedly for months, he said.
“Over the past eight months we’ve seen about 25 per cent of posted jobs being reposted,” he added.
Worker shortages are a nationwide trend, across industries, and studies indicate this will continue for the foreseeable future. A recent report published by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) entitled Labour Shortage: Here to Stay, stated that 45 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses in BC are having trouble hiring new employees, compared with the national average of 39 per cent.
BDC does not forecast this to improve in the next decade. It attributes the issue to retiring baby boomers leaving jobs vacant, and wages not keeping pace with skyrocketing living costs, especially housing.
According to the 2018 Canadian Rental Housing Index, released in May, the number of Powell River renters spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs was 45 per cent, compared to the national average of 40 per cent, and 19 per cent of local renters spend more than 50 per cent of their income each month on housing.
The generally accepted threshold for affordability is 30 per cent of household income. This means workers are being more discerning about the industries, wages and hours they are willing to accept, said D’Angio.
“When people are trying to cobble together multiple positions to make ends meet, and you combine that with a rental market that’s really expensive right now, people are being selective about where they’re applying and the jobs they’re taking,” he added.
Food services is one of the sectors hardest hit.
“It is by far the majority of postings we see,” said D’Angio.
This scene is familiar to restaurants including the local Tim Hortons, which recently scaled back opening hours due to a staffing shortfall.
“It’s everywhere,” said owner Lisa Giesbrecht of the trend, adding that it is not just affecting the food services sector. “I see it at the dentist’s office, optometrist, pharmacies.”
Business has been particularly challenging this year as staffing shortfalls have coincided with high numbers of visitors.
“It was very busy in our town this summer,” added Giesbrecht. “We sponsored Kathaumixw, the BC Bike Race; it was just a very challenging summer with low numbers of staff.”
Lund also saw record numbers of tourists this summer and businesses scrambled to hire enough workers, according to Nancy’s Bakery owner Nancy Bouchard.
“It was just kind of a perfect storm of lots of people on holiday and nobody working,” she said, adding that business was up about 20 per cent over last year. “Everyone’s first response is, ‘business is up, great.’ But it’s not great if we can’t give good service, if people are annoyed at waiting, or we run out of things.”
This dilemma has led many companies to get creative in attracting and retaining staff, according to D’Angio.
“I’ve seen some employers incentivizing,” he said.
Incentives have included cash rewards for people referring employees and considerable signing bonuses after having worked a probationary period.
At the Boardwalk Restaurant in Lund, owner Rayana Blackwell said her restaurant hired cooks from out of province and provided them with partial room and board.
“This year we bought a holiday trailer and parked it at SunLund campground, which cost us $700 a month,” she said. “That was dorm rooms; we put two guys in there. We paid above average wages and they were making close to $500 a week in tips on top of their wages.”
None of this prevented the workers from leaving their jobs without notice mid-season. As a result, the restaurant reduced its opening hours.
This does not just affect the business, said Blackwell, but also staff who have remained loyal over the years.
“We have people who depend on us to make it through the winter and we've had to cut their hours,” she added.
Other restaurant owners said programs they have in place to entice workers are not helping.
“We have a benefits and RRSP program for full and part-time employees,” said Giesbrecht. “We’ve been doing everything we can do.”
Bouchard said her bakery is extremely flexible with scheduling and also offers competitive wages.
“I pay more than businesses in Powell River usually do,” she said. “Nobody starts at minimum wage and they make good tips.”
Though not a concrete solution to the predicament, Blackwell said she believed cost-effective housing would go a long way toward easing the situation affecting both businesses and employees.
“We need more housing for staff at a reasonable price they can afford,” she said.
However, she was not optimistic this would be happening anytime soon.
“It is only going to get worse for a number of years,” she said. “It is what it is. You do what you have to do and hope for the best.”
