Traveling through the Olympic peninsula of Washington State this week../

[brooklynite]

…every restaurant had a sign up saying they had limited hours or service delays because of a lack of staff. None of these places were national chains.

[Ilsa]

1. I love that area. Beautiful.

Traveled there in 1990s before Forks became the home of sparkly vampires.

[leftstreet]

3. lol

[brooklynite]

2. Stayed overnight there...

The diner was going with “we can’t hire anyone because of Government handouts”

[BeerBarrelPolka]

12. The county

The county I live in now has had trouble finding workers for restaurants and bars long before Covid hit. Of course since this is a red county, they are all blaming the government and our Governor in particular. Biden is getting his fair share of blame too. Trump received absolutely no blame at all when he was president.

The truth of the matter here is, these republicans do not support small businesses. They rarely went to the bars and restaurants here and hence with small crowds come small to no tips. No one wants to work for peanuts. The rents out here (about 1.5 hours from Chicago) are now as much as many places in Chicago. There is serious trouble brewing.

[Hortensis]

13. Last time we visited friends there (1990s), many former lumber workers

in WA and OR were on welfare, famously refusing the jobs retraining the governments had been begging them to accept, while they waited for the lumber industry to come back.

The county welfare offices were by an upper scale market serving people who'd retired from jobs elsewhere to the Olympic Peninsula. Such a contrast. God! 30 years ago. Sure hope the guys we saw then went on to become plumbers and surveyors.

[DanieRains]

4. Serving Food In Enclosed Places To Ignorant Unmasked Unvaccinated Assholes Who Care For No One

And only want to gorge 3,000 calories without standing sounds like a great job to me.

Then they can all pack together in a closet over a grill, and prep table shoulder to shoulder.

I think I will stay home and be safe.

[flotsam2]

5. These guys are passing on a great opportunity

The thing to do is to be the first place in the area to offer a good living wage and when the application pile in pick the best of the best. Announce you're paying a living wage because you want "happy servers" and that unlike other restaurants you are fully staffed and full time-no shortened hours. If needed clearly explain you had to raise prices X% But your new staff and attitude will make it worthwhile experience for the customers. And while others offer short staffed and surly crew you have a chance to draw in a new larger customer base and establish your place as the premier local restaurant...

[maxsolomon]

6. It isn't just the Peninsula - although that has to make touring tough.

Restaurants in SEA just aren't busy enough to fund competent staff and are limping by on skeleton crews. Many great spots are gone or mothballed.

We go to a old-school NE Seattle restaurant that laid off waitresses who'd been there for decades and replaced them with teenagers from the owner's family. We haven't bought a Manhattan from their bar in 18 months.

Tips make those jobs liveable, even at a $15/hour wage.

[Kaleva]

7. There's a shortage of welder, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, nurses, truck drivers and so on...

where I live. Plus most every brick and motor store I've been to recently has signs up looking for help. That would be Lowes, Menards, Tractor Supply, Kohls, Target, and Michaels.

[pbmus]

8. Went to Denny's and ihop yesterday, both closed...

[KT2000]

9. Yes - serious shortage

and it is not just restaurants. I heard Walmart is advertising $17 an hour for new employees. Our QFC (Kroger) was forced to close all checkouts one evening and made everyone use self-check because some workers did not show up. One poor woman had to handle everything in the front. It takes 3-4 weeks to get an appointment to have your car even looked at if there is a problem. The nursing shortage at the hospital has caused them to use travelling nurses and they are seeking people willing to rent out rooms to them. New patients are waiting until February for appointments at a local clinic. Help wanted signs everywhere. Some days my bank is drive-thru only and reduced hours at that.

Part of the problem is that there has been an influx of people and new housing being built. Many people are opting for those better paying jobs. Even calling a plumber for a repair is challenging because many are opting to do new construction only.

Things are definitely different now.

[multigraincracker]

10. Now we see it...

What Is the Invisible Hand?
The invisible hand is a metaphor for the unseen forces that move the free market economy. Through individual self-interest and freedom of production as well as consumption, the best interest of society, as a whole, are fulfilled. The constant interplay of individual pressures on market supply and demand causes the natural movement of prices and the flow of trade.

Now live with it Capitalist.

[betsuni]

11. My family moved from the Midwest to Washington state when I was young and we loved

road trips to the Olympic Peninsula, our week-long summer holiday there was a big deal.

I couldn't remember the name of my parents' favorite place to stay, looked it up: Ocean Crest in Moclips. Then I remembered that's how my mother found out my father was having an affair. She called them to make a reservation and the owner said, "Oh, so soon? You were just here two weeks ago!" Oops. My dumbass father took his mistress to the same place he took his family!

Even back in the '70s the national forests were clear-cut. They'd leave trees next to the highway and then you'd turn a corner and see bald ugly clear-cuts as far as you could see.