Construction Industry Straining the Restaurant Biz
http://www.kcpw.org/article/1747
Construction Industry Straining the Restaurant Biz
Sep 15, 2006 by Julie Rose
(KCPW News) The construction industry is so strong in Salt Lake County right now that it's got other employers in a bind:
"Mostly with the dishwashing - that has been a very difficult position to fill lately," says Catherine Randak, Human Resources Director for Gastronomy restaurants. "I think a lot of the people that would have typically filled those jobs are now working on landscaping and construction crews."
Randak says she's started posting job notices a local high schools and in the newspaper to fill dishwashing positions. Gastronomy starts those employees at about $9 an hour - two or three dollars above average, according to state economist Jim Robson. But unskilled construction jobs in Salt Lake County are paying closer to $10 an hour at a minimum.
So Robson says those jobs have emptied out the unskilled labor pool, which includes many immigrant workers. Randak says six months ago she had plenty of people - mostly Mexican immigrants - applying for dishwashing jobs. Today she's having trouble convincing even high school students to take the positions.
"I sort of get the impression from the younger people I'm interviewing now that it's almost beneath them to start as a busser, let alone washing dishes," says Randak.
As long as construction thrives and Utah's unemployment rates stay low, Robson says businesses will have to either start paying a lot more money or get creative in attracting workers.
