Around 92% of Iowa’s restaurants are actively seeking to immediately add staff according to a survey conducted this month by the Iowa Restaurant Association.
A deeper dive into the data found that more than half of the state’s restaurants are operating more than 20% below needed staffing levels. The survey also found 70% of Iowa’s hospitality operators cite the inability to find qualified workforce as the number one threat to their potential recovery from the impact of COVID-19 and 85% say the lack of workforce will impact future business plans. The industry lost an estimated $1.45 billion due to COVID-related mitigation mandates.
“The data couldn’t be clearer,” Jessica Dunker, president and CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association stated in a release. “We need people; and we need them now. Our ability to recover depends on it.”
Operators cited multiple reasons for the current shortage of workers including people opting to stay on enhanced unemployment (90%), however nearly 40% say that many of their talented workers took positions in other industries. Top reasons cited also included school and childcare issues (15%), as well as fear of returning to work (20%) as contributing factors to the lack of workers. To cope with the worker shortage restaurants indicated that are taking one or more steps to try to keep up with customer demands.
- 87% of restaurants say they are stretching existing staff — giving team members more hours and more duties. Some are being forced to take additional operational steps including:
- 52% are not operating at capacity, making fewer seats and tables available for customers
- 35% are closing the restaurant for one or more days per week that they would normally operate if they had enough staff
- 20% are dropping breakfast or lunch service
- 19% are rotating staff between multiple locations
To help attract workers to Iowa’s restaurant and hospitality industry, the Iowa Restaurant Association has launched a “Be Part of Our Comeback” campaign which will promote opportunities in the restaurant industry, as well as provide an industry specific job board.
