Worker shortage common during tourist season

Eager to escape the constraints of the Covid pandemic, people are on the move across the country, many of them finding their way to the Black Hills. They are flooding the towns, anticipating a long-awaited vacation. According to some in the tourism industry, they have come early filling motels, campgrounds, restaurants and shops. Many employers, though enthusiastic about serving the tourists, are shorthanded and are looking for more help for the already overworked employees on the payroll.
This is not unique to this area or tourism alone. The newspaper world in general, according to Jerry Simpkins of Editor and Publisher Magazine, is suffering as workers have decided against returning to the line. Whether it is continued fear of Covid or being able to make more money at home, collecting unemployment or other reasons, the employees just are not there. Simpkins shared a statistic that may also be affecting the individual desire to work.
“The average productivity per American workers has increased 400 percent since 1950. While that sounds like a real win for both companies and workers, in the same period of time since 1950, wages when adjusted for the cost of living and inflation have remained stagnant,” he said.
People are needing more money to keep up with the rising cost of living. Food prices are up substantially  and the cost of purchasing a house is astronomical for many, as building materials are sky high. Perhaps people are looking for a job that pays enough to meet those needs.
In another industry, American Airlines has found it necessary to cancel 50-60 flights per day in June and possibly 50-80 flights per day in July due to worker shortage, sick calls and maintenance issues. Southwest Airlines has seen a drop in qualified applicants who meet basic job requirements from 42 to 14 per hire since 2019. Some believe the country could face a pilot shortage in the future.
With an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent in South Dakota, the second lowest rate in the nation, South Dakotans are working. However, there is still a shortage in the state and particularly the town of Hill City. Employers are finding ways to adjust to this dilemma in a variety of ways.
The Hill City Café has resorted to using buffet style service for breakfast and sometimes lunch and dinner. That enables them to get by with fewer employees.
“It’s terrible. I am working 17 hours a day. It’s like Sturgis Rally time. Some people just don’t want to work,” said Patty Houska, owner of Hill City Café.
She said that with people getting unemployment checks, plus money from the government for each child in the family, it is an incentive for them to stay home. On the other hand, she said, a cousin of hers wants to move from Sioux Falls to Hill City to work, but the housing is just not affordable.
Josh Ripley, owner of Desperados, had to make a hard decision. He only had enough cooks to offer one service, and looking at the numbers, the evening meal was where there was the most business.
“We started out being open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, but the cooks were regularly working double shifts, not getting days off. It was too much,” said Ripley.
By reducing his hours of operation to 4-9 p.m. four days a week and keeping them at 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. three days a week, he could make conditions more reasonable for his staff. They would work double shifts those three days, but the rest of the week they would do one shift a day. With this change they could have a day off each week and actually get two days off every three weeks.
“In my opinion, last year people stayed here, and we were overrun by tourists. This year some may just be taking it easy,” said Ripley.
Aleah Witt, manager of Hubcap Diner, had to adjust their hours as well. They are closed Monday and Tuesday to give her staff a break.
“With the lack of help, we are all overworked and exhausted. It has been so much busier than we anticipated. We had to do something,” said Witt.
She said the diner is operating with 19 employees where other years they have had as many as 55. Some of the individuals who worked for them through high school and college have gone on to career employment. She made an attempt to hire J-1 employees from overseas, and it is a long process.
“First you have to prove you have tried to hire people stateside and locally before you can apply. By that time, there were no visas available. There was a cap placed at 22,000,” said Witt.
She went on to say that working at a restaurant is “super physical,” and some just don’t have the will to work. They want to enjoy the summer and be able to take a vacation, which doesn’t often work with the tourism industry.
Dina Johnson from the Quality Inn said they were approved for international workers, but they are still waiting for them to come. Meanwhile the season continues strong.
“We are doing quite well in the housekeeping department, but we are short at the front desk. Right now, we have three part-time and three full-time front desk people, but we could use three more full-time,” said Johnson.
Michelle Pawelski, manager at Smokejumpers, echoed others who said the visitors came earlier than expected. They went to seven days a week on May 24.
“We have an exceptional staff of cooks, dishwashers, waitstaff, hosts and bussers. We are doing pretty good….. We have about 22-25 employees, but 30 would be good. Right now, no one can take a day off or get sick,” said Pawelski.
To alleviate a little  pressure, they have reduced the menu. With a small kitchen pumping out so much food, they had to do something.
“For the most part our guests are understanding if the wait time is longer. Other states are experiencing the worker shortage as well,” said Pawelski.
She said the J-1s were harder to get this year and the volume of tourists coming in is greater. Relying on a small local pool of people to service all the businesses in the area is a challenge.
Vic Alexander said his many businesses are pretty much fully-staffed. He said out of 57 employees that would be optimum for him, he has 55, lacking one more housekeeper and one more front desk clerk.
There are several factors that work in his favor, one being the fact that his businesses are primarily year-round. Out of those 55 employees, about 45 work all year, so he just had to hire 10-12 for the summer. Also, he has housing for employees, whether it be apartments or RV sites, and he offers a bonus at the end of the tourist season to those who stick with it during the entire time. In addition, his whole family is involved in the operation of his businesses—his wife, children and grandchildren, which helps in the labor force.
“I look at it kind of like a rancher would. He takes his kids and grandkids along as he fixes fence or checks cattle. My grandkids are learning the business by doing things like sweeping, picking up cigarette butts and stocking the shelves with candy bars,” said Alexander.
He believes the influx of retirees in the community has affected employment. The population wanting services in the area goes up, but they are not a significant part of the labor force.
Like many, Alexander believes generous unemployment benefits are enabling people to stay home and still have a paycheck. As someone who works long hours, he doesn’t understand how we as a country can allow people to do nothing and still get paid.
Meanwhile, the tourists keep coming, and the service industry attempts to make it a positive experience for them, often with limited staff. Perhaps when all the foreign workers are in place, some of the strain will be eased, but until more workers are available, businesses will find ways to adjust to meet the needs.