The latest Omicron wave, isolation periods and winter illnesses are leaving businesses desperately short staffed.
While people are out and about for school holidays, whether it be a trip to the cinema or travelling, businesses are struggling to fill those gaps.
That’s on top of an already very tight labour market and unemployment rate of 3.2%.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association surveyed 335 businesses and found all of them, 100%, had vacancies they were struggling to fill. Almost 40% had roles they advertised for more than six months.
“People are sick, they are isolating, not available to work, I think once we get past those sorts of pressures, things will recover a bit,” Waikato University’s Associate Professor in Economics Michael Cameron told 1News.
Ash Dutt from Howick’s Majestic Tea Bar says she’s working seven days a week to keep the doors open. This week alone she has two staff sick with Covid.
“Words can’t describe how hard it is," she said.
She’s had a vacancy for a store manager for some time, but recently had three applications.
So it means it’s a good time for workers looking for more hours, more pay or extra shifts.
© TVNZ 2022