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Poll results

Sponsored by: OTELCO

While Maine's progress in combating COVID-19 has allowed businesses to reopen, finding workers to keep them open is another matter.

In the hospitality field, in the forest products industry, and in many other sectors, the state faces a potentially crippling labor shortage. Growing Maine's workforce has never been easy, but the challenges today are particularly tough.

Labor shortages are affecting other parts of the country as well. There's a wide variety of explanations for the hiring crunch. If your theory isn't described below, please share it in a comment.

(This survey has been gratefully adapted from one published in a Mainebiz sister publication, the Worcester Business Journal.)

What's the No. 1 reason for the lack of qualified workers to fill the labor shortage in Maine?
The ongoing danger of COVID-19 still makes Mainers wary of returning to work. (4%, 19 VOTES)
The pandemic has forced Mainers to leave the state's workforce — for example, by moving or retiring. (3%, 16 VOTES)
New unemployment benefits created as emergency relief are a disincentive for workers to work. (66%, 354 VOTES)
The federal government hasn't granted enough visas for foreign workers to fill their usual seasonal jobs. (11%, 57 VOTES)
Maine doesn't offer enough education and training for new workers. (5%, 26 VOTES)
The lack of affordable child care in Maine is growing worse. (12%, 62 VOTES)
Poll Description

Sponsored by: OTELCO

While Maine's progress in combating COVID-19 has allowed businesses to reopen, finding workers to keep them open is another matter.

In the hospitality field, in the forest products industry, and in many other sectors, the state faces a potentially crippling labor shortage. Growing Maine's workforce has never been easy, but the challenges today are particularly tough.

Labor shortages are affecting other parts of the country as well. There's a wide variety of explanations for the hiring crunch. If your theory isn't described below, please share it in a comment.

(This survey has been gratefully adapted from one published in a Mainebiz sister publication, the Worcester Business Journal.)

  • 534 Votes
  • 14 Comments
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14 Comments

  • June 2, 2021

    Just about every business in Maine is in a desperate search of new employees. The hospitality industry is in a crisis with a lack of employees this summer. Even with $15+ wages being offered, it does not match the government's free (paid by the people working) money being offered.

  • Adam Baillargeon
    June 2, 2021

    The number one reason is two-fold. It is low wages AND lack of affordable housing. This is especially prevalent in the hospitality industry. Western Maine is seeing very low growth and an aging population. This combination is wreaking havoc on employers like Sugarloaf. No one wants to apply for a job with nowhere to live ~ ergo the problem persists and puts a huge strain on the small numbers of employees that are barely able to make it work.

  • June 1, 2021

    These discussions about a living wage tend to be one-sided: No matter how much you make, your expenses matter! I lived in the unfinished attic of an apartment house for a couple years after college. It was cheap and was able to live comfortably. The first house I owned was a real fixer-upper. Eventually, I bought some land and I built my own home. That took 10 years. My wife and I lived in the basement for two winters. We both worked full time. Too many people today want life served to them on a platter!

  • Roy Forsberg
    June 1, 2021

    The easy answer is to blame the unemployment benefits. That's only a cover for what is really going on. The pandemic has awakened the low wage work force to the reality of their situation and the uncertainty of the school situation has conspired to cause many, many Mainers to exit the work force entirely. The % of people in Maine not participating in the work force (not working, not looking for a job & not collecting unemployment benefits) is higher than ever. These folks are either opting out of the work force entirely, or they are contemplating or actively getting training for a new career, or are starting their own business, all to no longer have to go back to poor paying jobs with no benefits and substandard working conditions. The hospitality field is very much affected by this.

  • Jim Lyon
    June 1, 2021

    The pandemic merely accelerated shortages that existed before 2020. Maine has more people retiring than entering the workforce, particularly for predominantly manual labor jobs and for poorly paid service work. This is exacerbated because of the seasonal nature of many Maine jobs. Blaming the pandemic, unemployment insurance, the federal government, training programs, or childcare costs are talking-point excuses to push a political or other agenda.