Does Austin have enough workers this holiday season?
Austin (KXAN) — An Austin-based recruitment agency said things are looking better for the hospitality industry with the holidays quickly approaching.
Casey Nichik and Todd Gerjes of Talent 512/Patrice & Associates said their business is helping other businesses find the employees they need.
Nichik said the company's specialty is finding hospitality employees. She said this time of year, there's an uptick in demand for wait staff and hotel workers.
"Some of the smaller clients that we have are companies where they get really heavy seasonal influx of private bookings, and dining, and holiday parties. I've seen a lot of activity in terms of front desk staff, support staff, the non full time type of hires," Nichik said.
Nichik said the hospitality industry as a whole is nearly recovered from the blow dealt to it by the pandemic which saw many employees leave the industry.
However, Gerjes said more people are returning to the field and some to higher wages.
"We've seen wages increase across the board," Gerjes said.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, last month the state saw a new record high in its civilian labor force.
The agency said 20,900 people joined the workforce in October, bringing in a new record high of 15,162,100 workers for Texas.
Retail shops report full staffing on Black Friday
The Tanger Outlets in San Marcos buzzed with thousands of shoppers on the busiest shopping day of the year.
Allison Murphy, marketing director for Tanger Outlets, said Black Friday is a day that the stores and its staff all prepare for.
"This is our Super Bowl. This really is our time to shine," Murphy said.
Murphy said the outlet's stores are fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels of activity. She said going into Black Friday, it's stores weren't short of employees at all.
"It just depends on each store, I know that they all hire more. One of the stores I spoke with today said they had 6 extra for coverage," Murphy said.
Murphy attributed the outlet's success to good preparation and a steady supply of workers down the road.
"We do live close to the [Texas State University] campus so we have that flow of students that do come in and out over the year," Murphy said.