Help wanted: Restaurants and stores across Sumter and the country face new hurdle of staffing shortages

Applications filled out, but candidates are not coming to interviews

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Last year was a difficult time for Jacqueline Dupree and restaurateurs.

As the coronavirus pandemic swept across the country, people stayed away from eateries to avoid large crowds, leaving the food industry in a critical situation. The general manager at Baker's Sweets was forced to lay off some of her staff and close the restaurant on Alice Drive in March 2020 because of the pandemic. Other establishments were forced to make the same decision to let workers go as they were confined to only offering food to go.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, restaurants and bars lost 5.5 million jobs from March to April of last year, leaving millions out of work.

Baker's Sweets and other restaurants in Sumter were able to reopen outdoor patios in May of last year to keep business running and provide dining-out service. More than a year later, she looks to get business booming again, but after dealing with the headache of the pandemic, she faces a new problem that many restaurateurs said is affecting business: finding workers.

"Our restaurant has definitely felt that effect of not being able to get people in to work or get people to work," Dupree said.

After months of lockdown, Sumter restaurants and dining establishments are lifting restrictions as more Americans are getting vaccinated and are working to overcome last year's stress of massive layoffs and closures. Across Sumter, "now hiring" signs are up on doors, billboards and online ads on social media, but owners said they are not receiving enough applicants.

According to a study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a 10% increase in unemployment benefits during the pandemic led to a 3.6% drop in job applications.

The food service industry added 176,000 jobs in March in South Carolina, but there are still more than two million not working in bars and restaurants than before the pandemic.

Unemployment for bars and restaurants fell from 12.2% to 11.8% in March, which is nearly double the national jobless rate now at 6%, according to the BLS.

In South Carolina, while other business sectors have recovered, the leisure and hospitality sector is still down after losing 125,700 jobs in the worst part of the pandemic last year, said Laura Ullrich, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Regional economist for the Carolinas, based in Charlotte. The leisure and hospitality sector, which includes restaurants, hotels and recreation-based services, usually the lowest-wage sector, gained 88,000 jobs, but that is only a 70% recovery.

During the week of April 11-17, 171 Sumter County residents filed initial unemployment insurance claims, a high number compared to Lee County's filing of 25 and Clarendon County's filing of 75.

Ullrich said there can be a variety of reasons employees have left the job market.

"We are hearing it is difficult for people to find employees right now in that sector," Ullrich said. "If you're able to get unemployment and afraid of getting COVID, you may not want to go back to work quite yet. It's not one thing. I don't think it's just the virus itself. I don't think it's just unemployment. I think it's a whole host of factors that are kind of interwoven together."

Restaurant operators also said reasons for the shortage are complex, including flexibility, being scared of catching the virus or, most importantly, low wages.

According to the Department of Employment and Workforce, the average weekly benefit amount between April 11-17 was $230.04 per person; this does not include an additional $300 in federal coronavirus relief payments. With that, the maximum weekly unemployment benefits in the state could be up to $626.

Not enough hands on deck

And restaurants are not alone.

According to other businesses - big and small - including retailers, grocery stores and family owned companies, it has been difficult to fill positions across industries.

"It's been increasingly difficult in the past few months to find reliable contract workers, particularly newspaper delivery drivers, for us," said Vince Johnson, publisher of The Sumter Item.

But the restaurant industry has been hit especially hard. Owners say many employees left for better-paying jobs in other fields, while others also mentioned child care as being a big factor.

Dupree said she had a staff of nearly 53 at Baker's Sweets before the pandemic and is now down to 42.

Baker's employs many high-schoolers, and some left because of flexibility issues or they graduated and moved to further their education. Employees and managers had to make some tough calls, including picking up extra shifts when needed to compensate for the shortage.

"We are having to put our full-time people based on overtime," said Earl Wilson, owner of multiple Arby's and KFC fast-food restaurants in Sumter. "We're doing fine right now, but we are short of some staff. But we're making it with what we have with part-timers and the overtime hours."

Several restaurants are experiencing a serious decline in interest from applicants. Jeffrey Lampkin, owner of Country Boy Kitchen, said he has candidates who don't respond after completing an application and don't show up for the rest of the hiring process. He doesn't understand the missing applicants or why he and others can't find reliable workers. This is a stressful issue for him, as he opened a second location this spring downtown and needs extra hands as he expects a busy summer and more crowds.

Harry Elmore, operator of Harry and Harry Too, said the Bishopville restaurant had to close in late March for two weeks because of hiring struggles. He said he set up multiple interviews and was "stood up" on all of them.

"It's been quite difficult here to find employees," Elmore said. "We just got to a place where we didn't have enough employees to work, and so we had to close down, re-staff and regroup."

Elmore noticed the restaurant was seeing less workers around when the first stimulus check came out in mid-April 2020. He said in his 17 years at the restaurant and his experience being a U.S. Foods territory manager, he has never "seen a problem like this."

Eventually, the restaurant did reopen April 11, but the staff is trying to adjust to heavy traffic with fewer hands on deck as people travel more along Interstate 20.

"We're opening back up but trying to get our feet under us at the same time," he said.

Businesses and other services are encouraging those who seek a job to give their establishments a chance.

"If anyone wants to earn extra income, it's available," The Item's Johnson said about delivering the paper. "And, for our customers, know that we're finding solutions just as quickly as we can in somewhat unprecedented times."

Dupree, Lampkin and other managers and business owners pray this employment crisis concludes soon with a surge in the job market and more helpers.

"Give it a try," Dupree said. "I'm hoping that people will think about working in our restaurant."

But for now, these "now hiring" signs remain on establishment doors as a sign of the pressing problem that continues to affect communities across the country.