A plethora of people are having trouble finding jobs in the United States despite seeing “we’re hiring” signs on every corner. Although this is a problem, some people have found success in this strange time of businesses being short staffed. Some workers have seen starting pay as high as $17 an hour.

The Wolf interviewed Violeta Mendez, a student of Tualatin High and a worker at the Lake Oswego Carl’s Jr.

Why do you think there is a shortage of workers right now?

“I think there is a worker shortage right now because of COVID. Most people got stimulus checks just for staying at home and not working, which I think encouraged others to stop working and to keep on receiving checks from the government. Before COVID most jobs had an overflow of employees, but now most of them stopped working to receive benefits,” Mendez said.

Have you had trouble with getting an interview or job anywhere else?

“I actually have not applied for any other jobs so I am not sure how difficult it is or not; however, judging from worker shortages I think most places are taking anything they can get.”

Was getting a position at Carl’s Jr. difficult?

“For me, getting a job at Carl’s Jr. was not hard at all because I knew people that worked there and got hired easily.”

Does your job have sufficient people or is it understaffed?

“Right now though Carl’s Jr. is one of the places suffering a major worker shortage so most of the time we have to close early or just close the dining room, which really affects sales and employee wages. Also, since we have no help, it is extremely stressful.”