'Everybody is hiring': Even the most popular Wichita Falls businesses face worker shortages

Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News
·2 min read

The employment picture in Wichita Falls is a real head-scratcher. The unemployment rate has improved while the shrinkage in the workforce since the COVID-19 pandemic began has been relatively small – less than 1,000 workers over two years. But many local employers are still having trouble hiring workers.

Three of the city’s most popular restaurants just had to adjust hours or services because of worker shortages.

Chick-fil-A on Call Field Road, know for its efficient service, suspended its curbside delivery service. Northside Grill (Parkway North) had to close early Saturday and Deli Planet is permanently forgoing its evening hours effective this weekend.

More: Why are restaurants still struggling to find workers?

Deli Plant owner Rebecca Rutledge said serious problems began with the COVID-19 pandemic and have grown from there.

“For us personally it’s getting anyone to apply at all. We haven’t had hardly any qualified people apply in over a year,” she said.

Rebecca Rutledge of The Deli Planet says her restaurant has permanently adjusted hours to make up for a worker shortage that has become chronic in most sectors of the Wichita Falls economy.
Rebecca Rutledge of The Deli Planet says her restaurant has permanently adjusted hours to make up for a worker shortage that has become chronic in most sectors of the Wichita Falls economy.

Kendra Bell with Texas Workforce Solutions said the service sector has been hard hit, “but really we’ve got manufacturers and healthcare that are just having such a hard time.”

Henry Florsheim. president of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce agrees.

"Although we’ve seen the most issues in our service industries, I haven’t found a single sector untouched by the worker shortage," Florsheim said. "We have more people going back to work, but it appears that the business community has more workforce needs than are available at this point."

By the numbers: Study shows small businesses still struggle to find workers

Ball said the hardest hit in the healthcare sector appears to by North Texas State Hospital.

“They have such a shortage of workers right now that we are doing monthly job fairs with them,” she said.

Ball said with the labor force not decreasing significantly and the unemployment rate dropping it’s hard to say why the worker shortage is so extreme.

“With the pandemic it’s complicated because there are so many moving parts,” she said.

The Deli Planet Owner/Operator, Rebecca Rutledge prepares an order at her restaurant near Sheppard Air Force Base.
The Deli Planet Owner/Operator, Rebecca Rutledge prepares an order at her restaurant near Sheppard Air Force Base.

Rutledge thinks the labor impact of the pandemic has opened doors for many workers.

“Why servers and cooks are leaving the industry? I would say because of COVID they can go get a job just about anywhere,” she said. She also thinks government stimulus checks and child tax reform have taken away incentive for some people to work. “Everybody is hiring so anything you want to be you can basically go be right now.”

Affecting other industries: Wichita Falls construction projects hit speed bumps due to worker shortage

The Wichita Falls Metro unemployment rate in November, the latest figures available, was 4.2 percent, which is a percentage point better than the state average. The workforce had declined only 841 people since the beginning of he pandemic in February 2020.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Despite optimistic stats, local businesses still face worker shortages