REGIONAL— With the busy summer season ramping up across the North Country, area businesses are facing a growing challenge to find employees to serve the customers the warmer weather regularly brings to their doors.

It’s been a challenge for the past few years, say employers, but this year is shaping up to be one of the worst ever as a strong economy and a regional population that’s added few workers in recent years combine to leave a growing number of businesses wondering how they’ll operate.

“It’s a little scary right now,” said Vicky Hill, who operates the Subway sandwich shop in Ely. She normally staffs 14 employees over the summer months, but as of earlier this month she only had eight on board. “I don’t know where I’m going to get six more employees,” she said.

Hill said she always has to recruit to find the workers she needs, but this year, her efforts just aren’t paying off. “I’ve had one application in the past month,” she said.

The situation is evident in the pages of newspapers in the region, which have been full of help wanted ads for months. From resorts to local retailers, the challenge of finding workers is acute.

And it isn’t just summer workers who are in short supply. Businesses can’t find welders, warehouse workers, drivers, or home health aides— positions that are typically year-round. And schools are struggling to fill para-professional and even teaching positions, and bus drivers are among the toughest to find, in part because the job requires a clean driving record and special licensure.

And it isn’t just an inconvenience for employers in some cases. The Little Eagles Childcare Center, a state-licensed facility which opened in Tower last November, has been shut down since March after the lead teacher left for a higher-paying position. Despite months of advertising and other recruitment efforts, the center has yet to receive a single inquiry, much less an application for the position. The center’s board had hoped to be back open by May, but without qualified staff, which is required by state law, the center will remain closed indefinitely, according to board president Troy Swanson.

“It’s incredibly frustrating,” said Swanson. “We never thought it would be such a challenge finding staff.”

The situation may be a surprise to some for a region where unemployment has traditionally been higher than elsewhere in the state, but it’s no secret to Erik White, who oversees the Workforce Center in Duluth for the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. “We’re definitely hearing about it from the business sector,” said White. “Businesses are trying to reach out to the workforce center because their own methods of recruiting employees just aren’t working that well right now.”

White notes how dramatically conditions have changed since the recession in 2008, when businesses in the region, on average, received ten applications for every job opening. Today, that same business can expect to receive just one.

“If you’re getting ten applicants per job, you have lots of choice as an employer,” said White.

“With just one, you don’t have many choices.”

While that may be a frustration to prospective employers, today’s tight labor market is creating opportunities for those who may not have been considered for jobs before.

“Those with criminal backgrounds are getting more opportunities,” noted White. “Perhaps that’s one of the positives from the current labor market.”

It also means that employers are having to offer more training, and raise wages, according to White. “We are seeing noticeable wage growth,” said White. “Employers are definitely responding to the competition for workers.”

While some businesses can lower their standards, those that can’t face a particular challenge. That’s one reason that finding bus drivers, or staff for a child care center or school is so difficult. Swanson notes that state rules require that any lead teacher they hire must have a specific educational background, significant previous experience in early childhood learning, and be able to pass a background check. The center boosted the pay rate to $15 an hour in hopes of attracting interest, but so far it’s apparently not enough.

White says northeastern Minnesota faces bigger workforce challenges than other parts of the state for a couple of reasons. “For one, we have a stable population without any real immigrant presence, so we don’t have a surplus workforce to reach out to,” he said. Add to that an aging population where you have large numbers of residents leaving the workforce every year, and you have the makings of a growing challenge for employers. “That’s what makes northeastern kind of the canary in the coal mine on this issue,” said White.

Expansion difficult

For businesses that can barely staff existing operations, the prospect of expansion or taking on a new venture becomes increasingly daunting, and that limits the growth of local economies.

“That’s especially so if businesses are looking to expand, but worry they can’t find workers,” said White.

For employers who are planning expansions in the tight job market, it may be important to be creative. The folks at Lamppa Manufacturing are hoping that offering employees flexible scheduling in addition to solid wages will help them meet their increased staffing levels once they move into their expanded production facility this fall.

“We’re going to be open to flexible hours, or even part-time, to make it easier for employees,” said business manager Dale Horihan. While the production facility has long been a male bastion, since much of the work has involved dirty conditions and heavy lifting, Horihan said the new plant will be much cleaner, brighter, and will have the necessary equipment to put an end to the heavy lifting. “We know this has been thought of as a man’s job, but we’re definitely going to be encouraging women to apply,” said Horihan.

He said the company will be willing to consider job sharing arrangements and split shifts, if necessary, to allow parents to work around their children’s schedules. That’s a particular issue in the Tower area, where childcare availability is limited. “We don’t have to have people working a straight eight anymore,” said Horihan. “We’re open to being a little more creative.”