“Help Wanted” Across America
Since the COVID-19 Pandemic began, there has been an increase in Help Wanted signs around towns. MMC Students report their discoveries keeping an eye out for such signs.
Lead Editor: Olivia Pietruszewski Deputy Editor: Myah Lake
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Help Wanted Signs Scatter NYC
Gabrielle Fiorella Reporting Live From Manhattan, New York
Every street I walk down seems to always have help wanted signs in the windows of business’. Whether it be for a cashier, or just more general employees, so many businesses are quite short-handed these days. Usually, you must submit an application/resume, but some businesses are so desperate for work, that they just ask you to come inside to inquire about a position, like the Zenon Taverna pictured above. So many people left the city when the pandemic began, or businesses had to close because of the lack of customers, resulting in a rise in unemployment. Bodegas, markets, bakeries, gift shops, etc, seem to have the most help wanted signs around here that I have seen. It’s weird to walk around and be in NYC again after over a year of not being here. Things have begun to come back to life after such a standstill, but things are still slowly opening back up to full functionality. Some places are taking longer to open up because of the lack of employees they have. Despite seeing a large amount of help-wanted signs, however, many places that need more employees don’t advertise it on their store windows? That is odd to me because people walking past places that they would be interested in working at or maybe wouldn’t know if they would be interested in working there, wouldn’t know if they’re hiring or not. Walking into the business without the prior knowledge of knowing they are hiring isn’t really in many peoples’ immediate train of thought. Many places are relying on their websites to draw in interested potential employees. These processes seem to be working in some way or another for now, but for how much longer? The city will take a while to get back to how it was before the pandemic hit, but I hope the help wanted will keep making a difference to get the city back to a good place employment-wise.
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Jobless New York
Rayiah Ross Reporting live from Manhattan, New York
The topic of the hiring crisis in New York was so interesting to me, I actually used this concept for another class this semester. I did some research on some jobs in the city that needed the most help and found eight jobs that not only need help but also are completely attainable for most students and graduating seniors. The eight jobs are mapped out with the actual geographic locations of the businesses. The pandemic did disrupt the economy, but when it came to the real meat of the problem, customer service workers became a super important part of keeping the city alive for the months we were in lockdown. The pandemic has changed customer service and the customer service experience. After laying off many customer service employees, there is now an influx of help wanted for customer service positions. Managerial positions are also rising because Covid 19 didn’t challenge managers, it exposed them. Many jobs are in search of managers that can lead through Covid’s rising waters in a safe way. New York’s real estate market took a heavy hit during the Pandemic. As the world opens back up, housing is slowly rising in prices and the demand for real estate agents has risen. Many teaching and after-school positions are open because educators have been put in a tricky situation since the start of the Pandemic. Many classes are online and the ones that are in-person are hard for teachers to grapple with the new environment. Going off of that, everyone has been super reliant on the Internet, and because of that, IT jobs are skyrocketing. Medical positions are also in high demand, and not just for covid-related reasons. Before the pandemic, it was normal to respond to one or two cardiac arrest calls a week; now there are several each shift. There is a new and growing demand for EMT workers since Covid. Amazon is a gigantic media conglomerate that was a huge resource during the Pandemic. The growing need for packages delivered to your doorstep also causes a need for more drivers. The Pandemic has been a serious challenge for financial institutions. Banks are at the front line of economic disruption. Overall, I think there is much to be said about jobless New York and the story is still progressing. The world is slowly opening back up, but we’ll never be the same as we were before.
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Help Wanted!
Tess Schumacher Reporting Live from New York City, New York
Ever since the devastating effects of Covid-19 took place, stores and businesses throughout all five of the boroughs of New York City have felt the impact. Millions of people took to online shopping in hopes of avoiding exposure to Covid-19. This has resulted in many companies and businesses struggling to stay afloat and some closing down altogether. According to a New York Times article from 2020 by Matthew Haag, one-third of New York’s small businesses may be gone forever. Over 2,800 New York City businesses have closed permanently since March 1. Based on data from Yelp, this number is higher than any other American city. Approximately half of the closings have been in Manhattan alone. Office buildings have become vacant, wealthy residents have left for their second homes, and tourists have become sparse. Once Covid-19 ultimately subsides, about one-third of New York’s 240,000 small businesses are likely to never open again, according to the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group. Thus far, those businesses have lost 520,000 jobs. Overall, it is clearly no secret that Covid-19 has done substantial damage to New York City’s stores, companies, and small businesses. Help wanted signs have popped up all over the city’s storefront windows with hopes of their businesses staying alive. It’s truly sad and a shame that so many small businesses have gone under, but hopefully as time goes on and Covid-19 continues to dissipate, stores will reopen and new small businesses will bloom and New York City will go back to being the place where dreams come true for small companies and businesses that it once was.
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The Working Class is Hiring Now
Averee Nelson Reporting From New York, New York
While walking around my block, I see “Help Wanted” signs on every corner. From the thrift shop to my neighborhood Starbucks, lots of businesses are struggling to hire new employees, and employees are struggling to get hired. According to The Bureau of Labor, there are 10.9 jobs open and 8.4 unemployed potential workers, which highlights a disconnect in the current job seeking and hiring process. Videos of fast-food restaurants closing early due to understaffing or even a lack of a manager have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram. It is not just me noticing an overwhelming amount of hiring signs; the whole country is noticing this trend. My boyfriend works at the Starbucks that is hiring in our neighborhood, and he has noticed the internal hiring issue because there is a lot of pressure on him. He knows he is an asset to the store. There are days when if one employee calls out sick and no one else can come in, the store has to shorten their hours or close completely. This work experience isn’t an anomaly — many employers are struggling to find people to work, which forces them to cut their business operation hours. When I look around my neighborhood and see so many hiring signs, I wonder what type of employee these companies are looking for. I have heard of many people applying to companies that beg for new employees, but then they are rejected or don’t hear back. Thinking about my generation, I wonder if we are more suited for the gig economy rather than working “normal” jobs. Are we not interested in these jobs or are they not interested in us?
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Help Will Always Be Wanted
By Alexis Stovall Reporting from Miami, Florida
Miami has a huge hospitality sector and this is what the majority of this city thrives off of and depends on. Thousands of tourists come through this city every year and there is never a downtime in restaurants, nightlife, transportation, or lodging. When COVID-19 hit, many people were furloughed and had no way to provide for their families. Unlike many cities, Miami was one of the lucky ones to be least impacted. When New York City shut down, everyone fled to Miami and wanted to be outside of their houses socializing with other people and experiencing clubs and bars. Not all employees were affected but still many were. It has been almost a year since this has happened and since businesses have been able to reopen, it has been harder than ever before for these businesses to be able to find employees that are willing and wanting to work for a long period of time. According to The Miami Herald, job fairs are hosted frequently in order to fill over 6,000 open positions every week since the start of the summer months this year. People want job security and even though they can pick up a job today, will they still have that same job tomorrow if the pandemic shuts down the restaurant that they are working in? After this happened and left families with no income, virtual jobs have been attractive and in demand by many. Someone rather is an online virtual assistant from the comfort of their home and a guaranteed income than work per hour in an industry that is based on the climate of this virus or anything unknown that is to come. If jobs aren’t able to be filled then possibly everything will have to be turned virtually. When you go to a bar, there won’t be a bartender making your drink. Instead, there will be a robotic mixologist or a premade cocktail and you will pay with an iPad and continue on with your night. The jobs of bartenders and waiters aren’t easy jobs but they are necessary.
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Livable Wages, Not Minimum Wage
Natalie Davila Reporting From New York City
This past week I have paid more and more attention to the ‘Help Wanted’ signs posted everywhere. I have paid attention to the bigger companies in particular that are in desperate need of help. Every single Starbucks needs employees, with the holiday season coming up and some stores barely having enough employees during regular shifts. I approached a Starbucks to order a drink and asked about the available positions, the main one being: barista. I think people want to work but we need a livable wage and $15 in New York City is not cutting it anymore. No one wants to work at Starbucks for $15 an hour and deal with Karens all day long. No job is worth your mental health rapidly declining, and barely being able to pay rent. These huge corporations can pay their employees more, yet they do not and most do not offer benefits. When unemployment is paying more than 40+ hours a week, that just means that the minimum wage is not enough. I feel bad because not having enough people to work somewhere only hurts the current employees more than the corporate. I think now is the time for people to take a stand for workers’ rights and demand what is rightfully owed to them. Not to say you can put a price on your time, but for the sake of this argument, if you do put a price on an hour of your time you should aim high. You should have breaks while you are working and you should be treated like a human being. This is not a lot for anyone to ask for.
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Now Hiring!
Myah Lake reporting from Minneapolis, MN
Post pandemic in Minnesota we have been noticing a decline in employment. I have seen many stores eagerly hiring employees, due to the decline in employment. In Minneapolis, job openings climbed to a record high in the second quarter of 2021, according to the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development, as demand for workers greatly outpaced hiring. After still recovering from the pandemic recession, employers in MN reported 205,000 vacancies according to DEED. Rarely before that pandemic, I rarely saw “help wanted” signs until now, which signals a real unemployment surge in the economy. With so many vacancies that leave us to question, why? Possible people may not be happy at their jobs anymore and feel as if another company may be a better fit. Or possible people are uncomfortable returning to the public post-pandemic. With vaccine verification becoming mandatory this could also be a possible reason why so many vacancies are happening in the US.
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Help Woodside Businesses!
Kemi Watson Reporting from New York City
In the depths of Woodside Station beholds a plethora of shops that consists of Italian, Chinese, Peruvian, and Mexican food places. The area also has pharmacies, medical and dental centers, etc. Just when I thought I was not going to have any luck finding “Help Wanted” signs, I came across a butcher shop and nail shop that welcomed prospective workers. I love how my neighborhood displays a diverse amount of business and offers opportunities in different career backgrounds. The butcher shop is Italian owned, and the nail shop is Asian owned, and both shops are across from each other.
The butcher shop was small and offered restaurant service as well. The shop hosts many types of burgers, including this delicious-looking bacon and egg burger. Incorporating a meat-selling section is good business and may attract workers from the meatpacking industry and restaurant industry. I further wondered why the nail place needed more help, and then it dawned on me that the nail shop did not offer acrylic services at the time. Acrylic generates more profit than a regular manicure and pedicure services. Acrylic requires a technician to perform more detail-oriented work, so the shop can encounter more clients. Nowadays, more women are requesting acrylic-based nails, so having a technician specializing in that skill is beneficial to the company. Knowing that Queens hosts a diverse business and provides services to people of different backgrounds is astounding. I am happy to be a resident of the neighborhood.
