Unsplash: Tim Mossholder
)Central Queensland businesses are turning customers away and closing down amid a struggle to find staff despite the end of JobKeeper.
Federal treasury warned that tens of thousands of jobs would be lost when the subsidy ended last Sunday.
Regions like Cairns and the Whitsundays were expected to be among the hardest hit, but as businesses shifted to domestic-focused trade restaurant and tourism operators faced an entirely different problem.
"A lot of tourism operators across the broader region haven't been claiming JobKeeper for many months now, because their figures didn't represent 30 per cent or more drop in revenue," Capricorn Enterprise chief executive Mary Carrol said.
Across the state health protocols have forced hospitality staff to control the capacity within their businesses and regulate COVID-19 check-in requirements.
The new responsibilities, in addition to regular services, mean staff are stretched thin.
"We still have some restaurants who have not been able to open seven nights a week because they can't find enough hospitality workers," Ms Carroll said.
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)Restaurant's lunch cut
Kylie Smith manages a waterfront restaurant in Yeppoon that was open seven days a week before the pandemic hit.
The restaurant had since closed for breakfast and lunch on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to ensure enough staff were rostered for the busier dinner service.
Ms Smith said staff had been too hard to find.
"We don't take wedding bookings at the moment or any larger functions or events because, again, that takes staff resources," she said.
The restaurant had increased its focus on takeaways and introduced an electronic ordering system for times when the restaurant couldn't offer table service.
"[We are looking for] different ways we can build up, because there's certainly no light at the end of the tunnel at this point in terms of recruiting staff," Ms Smith said.
Impact felt far and wide
Steve Bates from Callide Dawson Chamber of Commerce said the problem stretched as far as Biloela.
"Cafes in town are struggling to get staff numbers — people just aren't applying for jobs," he said.
Biloela business owner Mark DiRuggiero spent six months trying to recruit staff, but he closed his cafe and bar in January.
Mr DiRuggiero said while the two-year-old business was unable to recover from the financial impact of COVID-19, an inability to find staff played a factor overall.
"I was advertising for manager and barrister, just people I could put on for at least six months," he said.
"I could hardly get any applications.
"If you don't have staff there, you're not running your business efficiently.
Jobs go begging
Data from Capricorn Enterprise showed there were more than 3,000 jobs available in central Queensland.
Callide Dawson Chamber of Commerce called on locals to fill the positions.
"I would suggest to people who have had a good old rest, it's time to stand up and help your country fight back now," Mr Bates said.
Ms Smith said customer demand at her restaurant was back to pre-pandemic levels, but she was still restricted due to the staffing shortages.
"That's something a number of venues are experiencing," she said.
