Nationwide Worker Shortage Affects Northland Businesses

DULUTH, Minn — Worker shortages continue to hold-back industries across the nation, and the Northland is no exception to the struggle to hire.

The pandemic disrupted life as we knew it, and while almost everything has returned to normal again, “we’re hiring” signs are still pinned to many businesses’ doors.

Supply and demand issues have been a hot-topic throughout the pandemic.

In simple terms, a lot of jobs and not enough employees.

The saying typically goes, “too many cooks in the kitchen,” but that’s not the case for the Boat Club Restaurant.

“Specifically for the restaurant industry, the area that we’re seeing this gap is in our kitchens and that’s where my frustration has been lately. We just do not have an emphasis on the culinary industry that we used to have,” said Owner Jason Vincent.

Vincent said he has no trouble hiring servers and bartenders — but it’s a different story behind the scenes.

The kitchen is hot, overworked, and understaffed, causing many to quit and others to steer-clear of the job.

He went on to say that the burnout is evident, and he needs more employees to give his current staff a break.

“One of the biggest things that I’ve discovered since the pandemic is work-life balance. People want to have work-life balance. They want to come to work when they’re scheduled to work and do a really good job at their job, but then be able to go home, have a life, have a family, have those experiences outside of the workplace.”

While there’s trouble finding paid workers, volunteers have helped bridge some gaps.

The Northshore Scenic Railroad has over 200 volunteers, many of whom are retired.

They work alongside 60 to 70 employees.

“Our volunteers come from all over. In fact, they travel great distances to volunteer. I’ve got volunteers who live in Chicago, the Twin Cities, North Dakota, and they all come in because they enjoy what they’re doing,” said General Manage Ken Buehler.

Buehler says the last few months have been tough at the station.

In the beginning of the summer, the railroad was forced to cut-down on train rides because they didn’t have the staff to run them.

Now, more volunteers have come forward and the railroad has returned to full-operation.

“I was very concerned that we were going to be canceling trains all summer. Now that we’re in a much better place, I feel very good about where we’ve come. I feel great about our volunteers, I feel good about our staff and how hard they’ve worked, and the fact that we’ve had a safe summer has been very important to me.”

While the train is getting back-on-track, Buehler says they’re still looking to add more volunteers to the team.

The Boat Club and the North Shore Scenic Railroad are just two examples of many local, regional, and national businesses searching for staff.