The local hospitality industry says it is struggling to find workers as hiring processes ramp up in the Springfield area.
Cara Walker Whiteley, president of the Springfield Hotel Lodging Assoc. and general manager at La Quinta Inn & Suites Airport Plaza, said she believes extended unemployment benefits and stimulus checks also have contributed to the problem.
Whiteley says governmental interventions, while created to help struggling Americans, have created staffing challenges.
In March 2020 prior to the pandemic, about 22,100 people were employed in the hospitality industry in Springfield.
That dropped to about 13,100 a month later and has edged up since then to the current estimate of 19,700.
Hotels are down not just one or two positions but several positions and existing employees at all levels are doing many more jobs, working extra hours and performing cross-departmental tasks to maintain normal operations.
Whiteley says people looking for jobs in Springfield to visit online hiring platforms such as Indeed, Facebook and Zip Recruiter.
