WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — We've seen 'now hiring' signs all over the Triad lately, but none quite like one in Winston-Salem that reads: 'Short staffed, It's the new pandemic!'
The sign is displayed outside Xcaret Mexican Grill downtown.
"Thankfully we’ve made it so far now we’re just short staffed now we have customers we just don’t have the workers," Juan Quiceno said. He's the manager of Xcaret.
The labor shortage is evident driving all around places like Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Most of the signs are the same.
"This is going on everywhere, it's not just me it's everybody and every business that's struggling to hire people."
So Quiceno wanted to make his sign stand out, to attract new hires. He needs about six workers currently.
"Instead of it being, you know, just a 'now hiring' basic one, I said why not just do something different?"
"It's just like another day, another obstacle," he continued. "But at least it's better than how it was with the other pandemic which was COVID-19, no one was coming out and unfortunately a lot of casualties were happening."
Restaurants are getting creative in other ways to attract potential employees, like holding hiring events.
"We're hiring all positions, front of house servers, hosts, and to-go specialists because our to-go business stays very busy," CJ Barr said. He's a Managing Partner of Bonefish Grill in Greensboro.
"Next Wednesday and Thursday, June 2 and June 3 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. is when our hiring events take place."
Governor Roy Cooper recently issued an executive order reinstating work search requirements in order to get unemployment benefits.
Starting June 6, you have to prove you're looking and applying to at least three jobs a week.
It'll hopefully deter people from scamming the system by trying to work 'under the table' while still collecting benefits.
"I've actually had a few {interviewees} that never showed up or never came and actually they didn't have the guts to come in," Quiceno explained. "So they would call and be like 'Hey, I want to serve but can we do it under the table?' I guess so they could still collect unemployment or something."