Waiters, cooks, store managers, boom operators, maids, Santas… Many sectors are facing a shortage of “seasonal” workers for this winter. Lack of labor that is observed in particular in the mountains where about 80,000 seasonal workers are usually hired each year so that vacationers can come to recharge their batteries.
At the Valmorel Savoyard resort, the first skiers should arrive in just over a week. But, even though the opening is near, some businesses are not ready yet. Samuel Crendal, manager of the resort’s bar and restaurants, found no DJ or doorman for his establishment. “I can’t see myself doing a season without a DJ,” he worries himself. And he is not the only one in this case.
Looking for better working conditions
The Covid 19 pandemic caused the almost total closure of the ski areas at the end of 2020. A forced stoppage for thousands of seasonal workers that encouraged some of them to retrain. Those who have remained in the profession, meanwhile, seek to work in better conditions.
Of the 80,000 seasonal workers hired each year at winter sports stations, there are still several thousand unfilled vacancies for this winter.
Santa Claus Shortage
But this observation goes far beyond winter sports seasons. Also in department stores, certain seasonal contracts, generally popular, no longer find buyers. The company Père Noël chez moi, which provides services for men in red and white at home or in professional settings, for example, has not managed to fill all its positions.
The struggling hotel and catering industry
However, according to the manager, it is “a small job at the end of the year that is well paid: the salary varies between 27 euros gross per hour, more than double the minimum wage, and up to 55 euros gross depending on the mission”. .
Questioned by the newspaper, the employee and recruiter connection platform StaffMe affirms that the greatest labor needs are observed in the hotel and restaurant sector.
But the candidates are few. 90% filled in September, only 67% of restaurant job postings have found the right fit since November 15.
Source: BFM TV
