- July 18, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Business
The business of “fun” has a people problem, and it’s no fun hiring these days.
My trusty spreadsheet says leisure and hospitality businesses had a record 1.34 million unfilled job openings nationwide at the end of May. That’s a 44% increase since February 2020, the month before the coronavirus iced the economy. Now, the industry isn’t alone: All other private industries had 6.67 million openings — up 29% vs. February 2020.
No industry was harder hit by the pandemic’s economic damage than what I call “fun” work — serving restaurant diners, hotel guests and visitors to attractions. The business of gathering folks in a single place didn’t fit well with government mandates designed to slow the spread of coronavirus by keeping people apart. And many consumers — whether they were spending their own money or using a corporate expense account — were reluctant to get out or travel.
With economic reopenings in full swing, “fun”…