A New York seafood restaurant was forced to close all seven of its locations on Sundays because it can’t find enough workers.
Ted’s Fish Fry, which has seven locations in the Albany area, will no longer serve customers on Sundays and is blaming coronavirus unemployment checks for keeping workers at home, according to the Times Union.
One manager told the paper that candidates “aren’t even coming in.”
ANTI-BIDEN BILLBOARD ANGERS LOCAL RESIDENTS WHO ARE CALLING FOR ‘VULGAR’ SIGN TO BE REMOVED
“They’re giving them all the money to stay home,” the manager added, in reference to the $300 supplemental coronavirus benefits being provided in addition to standard unemployment.
“The restaurants suffered through the pandemic,” the manager added. “Now, they’re suffering because they can’t find workers.”
Ted’s Fish Fry added in a statement to the Washington Examiner that it does not believe there is “one sole reason” for the shortage and noted that some people may not feel comfortable yet coming in close contact with co-workers and patrons.
“We are also noticing that several applicants are unable to work due to lack of childcare and school schedules,” the statement said. “We are excited to report that we have gotten several applications in the past couple of days and we are hopeful that we can fully staff our 7 locations by the summer.”
Roughly 60 miles north in Lake George, Regional Chamber of Commerce chairwoman Gina Mintzer says she’s heard some restaurant owners talking about only opening five days a week because “they lack the staff.”
Businesses across the country, especially in the leisure, hospitality, and food service sectors, have had trouble finding workers, including in Missouri, where the governor recently axed the $300 per week coronavirus compensation in hopes of encouraging people to begin looking for work.
“Despite our economy’s strong comeback, many business owners and employers across the state are still struggling, not because of COVID-19, but because they can’t find people to fill the jobs,” Gov. Mike Parsons said.
Unemployment rose to 6.1% in April, and only 266,000 jobs were added to the economy despite forecasters expecting that number to be around one million.
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden dismissed the idea that the poor jobs report was in part due to people being encouraged not to work by unemployment benefits.
“I know there’s been a lot of discussion since Friday’s report that people are being paid to stay home rather than go to work,” the president said. “Well, we don’t see much evidence of that. That is a major factor. We don’t see that. Look, it’s easy to say, the line has been, because of the generous unemployment benefits, that it’s a major factor in labor shortages.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
U.S. Labor Secretary Martin Walsh agreed with Biden in a Tuesday afternoon conference call with reporters.
“Are businesses saying this $300 prevents them from being successful?” Walsh asked. “I don’t see it. The president doesn’t see it.”
