WILDWOOD, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Morey’s Pier and other businesses down the Shore are struggling with a worker shortage as the region gears up for summer.
There's ample evidence of this, even before arriving in Wildwood. At a Wawa a few towns over, the doors were locked and the lights were off Monday morning. A sign posted in the window said the store was closed for several days because of a staff shortage.
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The situation wasn't much different on the Wildwood boardwalk.
"I'm on the boardwalk 45 years. I've never seen something like that. Never,” said Markos Zervas, owner of Hot Spot Restaurant and Pizzeria.
"There's no staff at all. Nobody comes for work. We've been open almost a month and a half. We have the 'help wanted' sign. Nobody will stop and ask for a job."
A few shops down, Original Hot Spot owner Joe Rotondi is dealing with the same thing.
"It's a struggle, because nobody wants to work when they're getting free money, and they're not letting any of the Europeans come," he said.
For more on the root causes of the worker shortage, listen to the following edition of "The Rundown" from KYW Newsradio.
A lot of people are collecting more money through unemployment benefits than they would earn working on the boardwalk.
Rotondi said, with the high cost of rent on the boardwalk, it would be near impossible for businesses like his to offer employees more money.
Jersey Shore businesses also rely on students coming from overseas for the summer as part of the J-1 Visa program. That’s not happening right now because of processing delays and backlogs related to the pandemic.
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Both Zervas and Rotondi said they need about 10 to 15 workers every summer. They’re each currently well short of that.
"I'm here from, like, 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. because there's no people around," said Zervas. "I’m too old for that. I don’t know if I can make it. I’ll just have to make it self service. It’s impossible to find people."
Rotondi agrees, and says business owners are facing a burden this summer.
"The owners work harder for their money," he added. "We, as owners, are going to struggle and take the brunt of having no employees."
Morey’s Pier is also dealing with a worker shortage, says Denise Beckson, the park's vice president of human resources. They need about 1,500 workers to successfully operate all three amusement parks on the boardwalk, she said. They weren’t remotely close to that number earlier in the month, so they had to make some adjustments.
"We’re doing lots of advertising, lots of outreach, to try to get more people," Beckson said. "We’ve raised our minimum wage to our starting pay rate, and we have seen a response to that."
Morey’s Pier is looking for people in all age groups to work whatever hours fit their schedules.
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"We have people as young as 14 and as old as 92, so we run the full gamut," explained Beckson.
"We do, primarily, hire high school students and college students, because this is a seasonal job and not a career job, but we do have a lot of retirees and teachers looking to supplement their teacher income in the summer."
A 17-year-old dropping off his application, saying his uncle suggested he work at Morey’s Pier, likely after hearing about the park’s push for employees.
While worker shortages remain a problem, Jersey Shore businesses have been getting plenty of good news lately, including the state lifting capacity restrictions and Monday’s announcement that masks won’t be required indoors for fully vaccinated people just in time for the unofficial start of summer.