Seaside Heights Holds Job Fair For Boardwalk Businesses Facing Summer Labor Shortage
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Seaside Heights hosted a job fair Friday as businesses face a labor shortage.
The boardwalk was busy with vacationers, which is great for business, but many shop and restaurant owners said it's hard to keep up with demand, CBS2's Meg Baker reported.
"The crowds are here, so we need to fulfill that. We need to make sure we have waitresses and waitstaff and arcade workers, so the guests that come are happy," said Maria Saltzman, marketing director for Casino Pier.
Saltzman said they normally get an influx of applications before summer starts. That didn't happen this year and not many showed up at the job fair.
"For example, Casino Pier is down 70 ride operators. So it's a huge chunk that we can't even keep our rides open," Saltzman said.
On the boardwalk, Jimbo's is in need of servers, bartenders, cooks and more.
"The applications, we used to get stacks and stacks, hundreds, and we don't really have any," said general manager Kim Abraham.
Kenneth Pandolf, 15, greets and seats guests. He said the summer job is fun.
"I like being outside and everyone working here. It's a nice community," Kenneth said. "It's good, elevating social skills."
Brendan Miller, 16, came to the boardwalk and left with a job. He's looking forward to making some extra money during the last few weeks of summer.
"I applied for the arcade actually, but I think I'm going to work on the actual boardwalk, like the games," said Brendan.
Patty Hershey, who's short six people at Shake Shoppe Arcade, said she's paying more than she usually does.
Interested job seekers can call the businesses or connect with them on social media.
CBS2's Meg Baker contributed to this report.