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Seeking solutions Louis Barrios, president and CEO of Los Barrios Enterprises, said he has seen his fair share of sta ng issues over the 40-plus years that he and his family have owned and run several local restaurants, including Los Bar- rios and La Hacienda de Los Barrios. “You have ebbs and ows. These are just the normal business cycles,” Barrios said. But he also said he felt pandem- ic-induced mandates imposed by local and state governments—such as prolonged business closures and limited capacity in public places— generally hurt businesses and frus- trated employees by creating a sense of uncertainty. In April 2020, just as COVID-19 began prompting lockdowns, Los Bar- rios Enterprises introduced retention bonuses for managers and cooks. Barrios said, in his case, retention bonuses are more e ective than hir- ing bonuses because employees feel wanted and secure. “The retention bonuses paid divi- dends because employees say, ‘Why would I leave this now?’” he said. Michelle Madson, San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association presi- dent and CEO, said her industry is also coping with a workforce shortage and getting creative with solutions. According to theU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 7% of the country’s total restaurant andhotelworkforce left their jobs in November, producing at least 920,000 temporary job vacancies. “We have seen it get better in the last couple of months. Some prop- erties have raised wages and put up incentives that have proven e ective,” Madson said. “But that e ectiveness varies from property to property and is based on what their needs are.” However, Madson said downtown area hotels such as the Marriott can a ord better pay and incentives. “Many of the locally-owned proper- ties were decimated by COVID[-19],” she said. Adapting to change Nonpro ts, too, are adjusting to workforce trends. YMCA of Greater San Antonio has had trouble lling positions in Child Watch and after- school programs across the area. As a result, local YMCA o cials said about 270 children were await- ing admission into those programs as of Dec. 29.
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LARGEST INDUSTRIES For the North Side, health care and social assistance jobs are most prevalent followed by professional or scienti c and then government, according to 2020 data.
While the U.S. Department of Labor in December reported the total number of job openings nationwide dipped to 10.6 million in November, the same month saw the highest num- ber of people quitting their jobs with a 3% hike compared to September. Sta ng shortages Business advocacy groups, work- force training and recruiting agen- cies, among other organizations, say employers have found it di cult to nd an adequate number of employ- ees to fully sta their enterprises, in part because of the COVID-19 pan- demic’s impact. At the start of 2022, Bill Miller’s Bar- B Q announced it was temporarily closing all of its dining rooms due to a sta ng shortage. Additionally, Northside ISD said more than 1,000 employees did not return to work following the holiday break. District spokesman Barry Perez said most employees cited allergies, COVID-19-related sickness or other concerns for missing the rst day or two of classes. The San Antonio Humane Society also announced the shelter could not accept any animals Jan. 5 “due to sta shortage.” Cristina Aldrete, the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said, in one way, member businesses are doing well with busy workloads despite the pandemic. However, in another way, some merchants have turned down projects or outsourced duties because of a labor shortage. “Some businesses say ‘I wanted the work, I got it, but I couldn’t ser- vice the client because I don’t have enough people,’” Aldrete said. Customer service representative is the most preferred occupation among the 116,000-plus people with resumes through Workforce Solutions, to the tune of 6,234 job seekers. Yet, some customer service-cen- tric employers struggle to recruit and retain people, Aldrete said. Health care employers are doing well on thewhole, Aldrete said, but the chal- lenge is lling highly-skilled positions. “These jobs require more people who are immediately ready after training for that level of work,” Aldrete said. “We have people in the pipeline, they’re just not ready yet.”
Lodging & food services Government Professional, scienti c & technical services Health care & social assistance Other services (except public administration) Finance & insurance Retail Administrative & support & waste management Business management Construction $83,998 $85,587 $23,940 $67,928 $139,394 $47,441 $43,363 $109,755
$60,712
$27,925
0
5K
15K
20K
25K
10K
Number of jobs in each industry
TOP GROWING INDUSTRIES Area jobs are on the rise with health care growing the most.
2015 2020
Professional, scienti c & technical services
+21%
Business management
+17%
Real estate, renting, leasing
+8%
Transportation & warehousing
+7%
Health care & social assistance
+21%
Finance & insurance
+6%
Construction
+6%
Wholesale trade
+4%
Agriculture, forestry, hunting, shing
+1%
Government
+0%
0
5K
10K
15K
20K
Number of jobs in each industry
NOTE: INCLUDES DATA FOR ZIP CODES 78216, 78231, 78232, 78248, 78258, 78259 AND 78260 SOURCE: WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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