Small businesses struggle with labor shortage amid holiday season

Retail sales saw a 2% growth in October which was the biggest gain since March when many Americans received their stimulus checks. Economists expect the buying surge to continue through the holiday season but many retailers are struggling to fill holiday job openings. 

Eve Golden, a boutique store owner in New Jersey said that there are no workers in her store that she has to shut the store every day for half an hour to pick up her daughter from school. She says, "I post on social media, ask friends of friends. It just seems like no one is available to work right now." Her store gets by with two high school students who can work in the evenings. 

With the holidays nearing, it is not just mom-and-pop stores that are looking for a helping hand. According to the National Retail Federation, across the country, companies could fill more than 600,000 seasonal jobs. Amazon is looking for 150,000 new employees, Kohls requires 90,000 and UPS is looking to hire 100,000 workers to keep up with increased demand. Large companies are looking for ways to attract seasonal workers with increased wages and signing bonuses but small businesses like Golden's can't compete with the incentives. She says, "We're not like a multimillion-dollar company. We're successful, but we are [a] mom-and-pop shop at the end of the day." From these small stores to big box stores, the worker shortage could translate into longer lines and higher prices for consumers. 

Source: CBS News