Where are workers to fill all the empty jobs in 果冻传煤? It’s complicated.
By Julia O'Malley
Inside James Strong鈥檚 new Midtown coffee shop, Bema Coffee, the freshly painted mural, new raw wood tables and espresso machine sat ready. He wanted to start serving locally roasted coffee.
鈥淢y only problem now is employees,鈥� he said recently. 鈥淭here鈥檚 absolutely no one to work.鈥�
Strong also owns Sweet Caribou, the salad shop next door, and has been struggling with the labor shortage for years now. Early in the pandemic when businesses were limited by mandates and workers became eligible for enhanced unemployment, he thought no one was applying because they were making more money staying home. But those benefits ran out a long time ago. And the workers haven鈥檛 come back.
鈥淚 now believe there鈥檚 a lot of variables,鈥� he said.
The labor shortage聽in 果冻传煤 and across the country, especially in retail, hospitality and food service. It鈥檚 also a fact of life for consumers who have become used to long drive-through lines, long waits and restaurants closing for two or more days a week. A lot of people are asking: where have the workers gone?
Sweet Caribou and Bema Coffee owner James Strong helps his staff with the lunch rush on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Strong was able to open his coffee shop, but is still looking for employees. Before he started Sweet Caribou, he was studying for a PhD in economics. He has a theory that more people have retired than before the pandemic. On top of that, people aren鈥檛 moving to Alaska like they once did. Some restaurant staff have switched to the burgeoning cannabis industry. There are also fewer workers from other countries, he said. Alaska economists who are studying the shortage say he鈥檚 not far off.
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The state鈥檚 labor market problems fall in line with national trends, said Neal Fried, a state economist. The lack of workers may be a little more extreme right now in Alaska than Outside because of the seasonal nature of the economy, he said. The Lower 48 economy has recovered in many ways from the pandemic, but Alaska鈥檚 economy is still catching up, he said. The state has low unemployment rates for Alaska, but that鈥檚 still a little higher than the national average.
鈥淲e still have a heck of a lot more job openings now than we have people looking for jobs even though, you know, we don鈥檛 have this terribly robust economy,鈥� he said.
Other factors are at plays as well, he said, including forces that were in motion before the pandemic. The population is aging, with boomers hitting retirement age and fewer people joining the workforce. Alaska鈥檚 population has also been falling, he said. Fewer people are leaving the state than in 2020, but fewer people are moving here. Alaska depends on a big inflow of non-resident workers, and there aren鈥檛 as many. When the economy Outside is doing well, fewer people come to Alaska for work, he said.
鈥淲e always hear the story about how employers can鈥檛 find workers. But the flip side of that is it鈥檚 the greatest time I鈥檝e ever seen for job opportunities -- quitting, switching jobs,鈥� he said.
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Nolan Klouda, executive director at University of Alaska Center for Economic Development, has been interviewing stakeholders around the state about the labor market. He鈥檚 heard that some people who left work during the pandemic haven鈥檛 returned because of virus concerns and childcare issues. There are fewer immigrant workers like those holding J-1 visas. The dynamics of the pandemic, especially for people in public-facing jobs, weren鈥檛 great, and that encouraged people to switch jobs, he said. Studies show more people retired and left jobs for higher paying positions.
鈥淭here were people that were close, that could retire but wouldn鈥檛 have necessarily done it otherwise, but the pandemic made working a lot of jobs less pleasant and people with health sensitivity stuff, or whatever reason, decided it鈥檚 a good time to retire,鈥� he said.
Some people also changed industries, he said. There鈥檚 some evidence that some are retraining, though that hasn鈥檛 bumped up enrollment in Alaska鈥檚 university system, he said. People are more interested than ever in the quality of their work environment, benefits and pay, he said. Outside of Alaska, that has fueled unionization efforts at places like Starbucks and Amazon.
鈥淲orkers are tending to realize that they have more negotiating power when it comes to employers, and that they can ask for better wages,鈥� he said. " If they don鈥檛 like their current job, then there are a lot of other people that are hiring, and it鈥檚 maybe a good time to make that jump.鈥�
Restaurant work quit being fun
Spenard Joe's co-owner Garrett Martin stands outside his coffee stand next to a mural he painted, on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Just a few blocks from Strong鈥檚 new coffee shop location, you can often find Garrett Martin at Spenard Joe鈥檚, a mural-covered coffee cart he co-owns on Spenard Road. Garrett was a restaurant manager when the pandemic hit in March 2020 . He鈥檚 in his mid-40s and worked in restaurants for 25 years. 鈥淎 perfect storm鈥� of events led him out of the industry, he said.
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Even before the pandemic, he鈥檇 been feeling like he was aging out. The pace of the work, which used to be fun, wasn鈥檛 as much fun anymore. And, he wanted more time to make art and was starting to think about how he鈥檇 retire.
He鈥檇 been a regular at the coffee cart in his neighborhood. It came up for sale and he decided to buy it with a couple of partners. The day the cart was set to open, he was laid off from his restaurant job.
鈥淚 had a lot of fear about being self-employed, about making those kinds of changes from the restaurant industry,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure without being laid off I wouldn鈥檛 have had that push.鈥�
Spenard Joe's co-owner Garrett Martin, right, works with barista Marissa Pedersen inside his coffee stand on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
He doesn鈥檛 want to go back to restaurant work, he said. It鈥檚 a great job when you鈥檙e young, but it鈥檚 not a great place to get older and keep growing.
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鈥淚n restaurants there鈥檚 nowhere to go at a certain point, you can鈥檛 move up,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have seen people who wait tables until they are in their 60s or even 70s and at the end of the road some people don鈥檛 really have anything to show for it.鈥�
Driving the bus got scary
After a 20-year career in retail, Beatrice Campbell started driving school buses for the 果冻传煤 School District. She wasn鈥檛 expecting to love it when she started but she did. She drove for 16 years, mostly in South 果冻传煤 off O鈥橫alley Road.
Bea Campbell picks apples in her garden on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022 in Muldoon. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
鈥淲hen the pandemic hit, I was kind of leery because I鈥檓 kind of compromised with health issues,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was afraid or scared of COVID and being around children, exposed in a closed bus.鈥�
Work took a stressful turn, she said. There was disagreement among coworkers and the families of the children she served about pandemic precautions and she felt caught in the middle.
鈥淭he protocol wasn鈥檛 really clear. And then I had the opposition of people that didn鈥檛 believe that they should have to wear a mask and didn鈥檛 believe that they should be vaccinated,鈥� she said.
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And that made her start looking at retirement in late 2020. She was in her early 60s.
鈥淚 sat down and figured out the math on it and I said, you know, I can do this, I can do this and be fine,鈥� she said.
She was part of the union and when she started her job, she was eligible for benefits that new drivers aren鈥檛 eligible for now. Those benefits made it easier to retire, she said. Union membership, which used to be mandatory, became optional. And nobody wants the dues taken out of their checks. She worries that the pay and benefits for workers aren鈥檛 enough to keep longevity. It has been hard to watch the district鈥檚 trouble with finding drivers, she said. She thought about going back, but she鈥檇 let her commercial license lapse.
Bea Campbell holds a jar of pickles on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022 at her home in Muldoon. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of heart wrenching for me because I love my kids and I get attached to them,鈥� she said.
That said, retirement has so far been full.
鈥淚 have got all this time to do my gardening. I canned tomatoes. I have a greenhouse. I鈥檓 doing applesauce right now,鈥� she said.
She left last month to get an RV ready for a cross-country trip.
pandemic gave her an opportunity to pause
In spring 2020, Aubry Watkins, who is 42, had been working at a small Waldorf preschool. The pandemic sent her home. And then school shut down. She decided to homeschool her daughter and stay out of the workforce for a while.
鈥淭hat really gave me a good opportunity to sit and pause,鈥� she said.
Aubry Watkins, right, laughs with Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop co-owner Rachel Pennington as Watkins prepares chocolate chip cookies on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
She鈥檇 been a bartender for years before starting work with children. She wasn鈥檛 sure she wanted to go back to that job. Nor did she want to go back to the classroom.
鈥淚 was like, you know, I love kids, and I love my daughter. More than anything but I鈥檓 just not a teacher,鈥� she said.
She took up hobbies to keep busy at home. A little knitting, a little baking.
鈥淚 was like, you know, I鈥檒l bake some cookies. I鈥檒l bake a cake, another cake, a big birthday cake. I鈥檒l bake a wedding cake. One thing led to another,鈥� she said.
Aubry Watkins prepares chocolate chip cookies at Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
She loved to bake. She took a sourdough class at Fire Island Bakery, and that鈥檚 when she learned the bakery was hiring. So she applied. She鈥檚 been working there for a few months and is grateful for the opportunity.
鈥淭he thing about it is there鈥檚 so much work out there. Honestly, had I tried to apply at Fire Island before the pandemic, they wouldn鈥檛 have looked twice at me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any culinary background.鈥�
Strong, from Bema Coffee, said he鈥檚 seen just a few more applications come through lately and heard that other businesses have too. Maybe it鈥檚 a sign some people, like Watkins, are making the move back to work. He鈥檇 like to serve breakfast burritos at the coffee shop and expand his busy salad business.
鈥淲ith the workforce the way it is,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can only do what I can do.鈥�