LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The economy is beginning to turn around both nationally and locally but some businesses around Las Vegas report they are having a tough time finding willing and qualified workers for available positions.
Around the Las Vegas valley, there are near-daily job fairs at places like hotels and casinos.
But other companies are struggling to hire.
"We are a pre and post-natal fitness company, we offer fitness programs for moms at every stage of motherhood," explained Jessica Peralta, the owner of Fit4Mom Las Vegas.
Peralta reports her vacant positions from trainers to support staff are not attracting many candidates.
"Before the shutdown, we had a staff of 27," said Peralta.
"We are a small business and right now, we're actually sitting at a staff of nine, so we're looking to replenish back to that full team of 27," added Peralta.
Temp agencies and recruiters say, recently, finding willing and qualified applicants is a tough task.
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"I've been in the employment and staffing for over 20 years and I've never seen anything like this, ever," explained Sonia Petkewich, owner of Taurean Consulting Group.
Petkewich says even good, high-wage jobs are getting fewer bites.
"The amount of applicants that they are getting is like two or three, whereas a year ago, it would be 20 people in line for those jobs," explained Petkewich.
Petkewich believes there are several factors at play.
She says the move to working from home has made in-person work less appetizing for some people.
There are also extended federal unemployment benefits that are supplying money through September 2021.
Petkewich says many companies are tightening their belts on compensation and often times are paying less for the same job after the pandemic.
"I think some companies are limiting the capacity from a compensation perspective, so the candidates might now feel that the salary that is being offered is competitive so they're willing to hold out a little bit," added Petkewich.
"I feel like it's a little bit of a jigsaw puzzle where there's a lot of moving parts and we're just working to take it one step at a time and bringing on staff, that's very much needed," said Peralta.
Peralta says women, especially moms, made big changes during the pandemic to juggling distancing learning for school-aged children and child care and that may also impact available candidates.
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE | Joe Bartels discusses the issue further for the Daily Debrief:
