OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Worker shortages have been affecting businesses across the metro for the past few years, forcing many to adapt. Some small businesses have had to close their doors early, adjust their days of operations, or in some cases — temporarily close.
"Since I’m the lead baker, there's some things just I do. And because I had COVID, I had to refund some people over Christmas. So, it’s pretty tough, but our customers are pretty fantastic," said Nathan Tweedy, head pastry chef and bakery manager at Vitale.
The issue started before the pandemic, but COVID just exacerbated the problem. An increase in retirements and childcare issues are among the challenges that came to a head during the past two years.
Anna Lopez Shalla, senior director of workforce development at the Greater Omaha Chamber said that the pandemic accelerated retirement plans for some people, who will never return to the workforce. It also increased already difficult issues with childcare, which caused many people to leave the workforce "somewhat against their will" in order to care for families.
Lopez Shalla said the childcare burden had a "disproportionate impact on women." Not to mention workers re-evaluating their priorities.
"We also saw folks that had somewhat of an existential crisis and thought 'Is this really what I want to be doing during this pandemic?'" she explained.
It's an issue that's hurt smaller businesses more than bigger corporations.
"They are based on in-person human interaction and, every time we’ve had a spike and decline in COVID, they’ve had to weather that storm live. And it has changed the way...they could be open, how they could be open, what the experience would be. And made it very difficult for them to predict going forward," Lopez Shalla said.
Experts say they're not sure if the economy will ever fully recover from the worker shortage, but the situation is improving. Incentives like sign-on bonuses as well as partnerships with organizations like Heartland Workforce Solutions have helped.
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