The Mycenaean

Many companies in the Leesville area are looking for new hires. Workplaces around the country are suffering from a work shortage. Here’s why many companies need new workers.

Some interesting offers include the following: Target, who is looking for cashiers, Food Lion needs cashiers and shelving people, and Bojangles needs cashiers. 

The main concern for customers however is with how understaffed everything is. Fast food areas have longer lines and it takes a while to get food. Studies have found multiple reasons why fast food feels longer. Grocery stores are forced to over work their employees to stay in business. 

“It’s difficult to find people who want to work weekdays,” said Joe Stevens, manager at Food Lyons. 

As for why this is happening, there are three important reasons. One is that since colleges and universities have started up, students do not have time for jobs. School is a big part of a student’s life and some do not have time for jobs.

The second reason is because of COVID. Due to the pandemic, lots of jobs had to lay off workers last year. Unemployment rates have increased significantly, especially for younger workers. Companies are wanting more experienced workers, so it is harder for high school and college students to be employed.

The third reason is the most interesting. The shortage is due to employees not getting paid as much as they think they should be. Some of these jobs can be quite difficult and demanding on people. So many high school and college students do not see the point in getting a hard working job that pays very little. 

As for students with jobs, it is mostly positive. “Yeah, I enjoy it…being broke sucks,” said Daniel Santana, student at Leesville. For a typical high school student, the salary is not bad, roughly $10 to $15 an hour, but this is not sustainable for a single working adult.

A big worker shortage that impacts Leesville is bus drivers. There are not many bus drivers to help bring students to and from campus. That is why the school is changing route bus numbers everyday. 

This is a big problem for not just the Leesville area but the entire country. Many jobs are available for anyone who is interested.