“For the first stretch of the pandemic, I just kind of sat at home and waited for my job to call and tell me we were reopening,” he said.
Nearly one in five nonretired adults left their job at some point that year, with the nation’s “quit rate” reaching a 20-year high in November, according to the Pew Research Center.
Employers weren’t interested in hiring, and people were shut out of the workforce,” Button told VOA.
The trucking industry, for example, had struggled to retain drivers for years before the pandemic as the baby boomer generation retired from the workforce.
“They don’t want to be away from their families for a week at a time, and they don’t accept waiting for hours at truck stops because freight hasn’t arrived,” she said.
“Wages are higher for service industry workers now, but it’s still often a life that sucks — long hours, constantly on your feet, angry customers.
“I think when restaurants and bars were closed during the pandemic, a lot of workers explored other industries,” Cook said.
To stay competitive, Cook raised salaries from $12 and $14 an hour to $22, and he’s offered more salaried positions.
Pay more!’ But I can’t go much further without losing money,” he said.
“Of course, not everything we’ve seen will linger,” he said.