Santa Claus is coming to town !: so said that popular Christmas carol by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie. But this year it seems that it will not be like that. We’ve had a lot of strange shortages this year: from coffee or lumber to tupperware and private jets. Supermarket shelves have been left empty due to the disruption in the supply chain stemming from the pandemic. The same has happened for almost all raw materials. But perhaps the most surprising shortage (and even comical, depending on how you look at it) is the one that is coming this Christmas and that already affects the entire US.
Yes, there is a shortage of Santa Claus this year. The reason is a combination of demand for costumed entertainers, which has increased massively, while the supply has declined dramatically. And of course, the parents are in trouble, like in that movie.
No santa claus this year. The shortages this holiday season have reached the North Pole as people scramble to find Santa Claus. The founder of the mythical hiring page hiresanta.com, Mitch Allen, explained that the web has seen a 121% increase in people looking to have Santa at an event this year compared to the last two years. And yet there are 10% fewer entertainers willing to put on disguise because of the pandemic.
Right now there are more than 1,275 full-season Santa jobs, such as those working in shopping malls, and more than 2,000 bowling an hour still unfilled. There are already those who are paying 300 euros for two hours and a fake beard through a website called GigSalad. “I don’t even have a photo of the Santa Claus I have hired. I don’t even know what he is like,” explained an employee of a nonprofit organization in this Insider report.
this is real. not photoshopped. pic.twitter.com/MaBVeL2f2C
– Oliver Willis (@owillis) November 30, 2021
A risk for them. The truth is that many of them are probably at a higher risk of suffering from Covid due to their age and high body mass index, which is a comorbidity, so they can skip this year or permanently withdraw from the Santa Claus industry due to to the pandemic. Others, Allen said, have died. “Several hundred Santas, during the last 18 months, have passed away, and it is a tragedy,” he explained to the Washington Post.
Saint Tim Connaghan, the well-known “National Santa Claus” for his role in the great parades and the program Toys for Tots, He also commented that 18% of the surviving Santas are out of the industry this year. The results of the website indicate that 82% have been vaccinated.
No, there are no Santa costumes either. While it may seem simple to have a grandfather or anyone with a belly and beard to play the role of Santa Claus, supply chain shortages have also limited the availability of the traditional costume. “There are many necessary items that are still at sea in containers. The wholesalers have not obtained the products from China yet and the things that should have arrived in August are arriving now. The stores are already doing business: a Santa costume has been sold. turned into a luxury relic.
Shortage of workers. Amid a global labor shortage, companies around the world are desperately searching for solutions. Almost half of SMB owners say it is increasingly difficult to find qualified people compared to a year ago, according to most surveys. A phenomenon of which we have spoken on Magnet and which is unprecedented in its scale, also due to the mystery of its origins. There has never been so much reluctance on the part of unemployed people. There are so many workers short that even companies are failing to punish employees for recreational drug use.
And the reality is that the retail and face-to-face services sectors are experiencing an even bigger wave. These low-wage roles, in direct contact with the public, they flee from the prospect of low salaries, staff shortages, long hours and constant battles with clients. Just under 650,000 retail workers quit in April alone, according to Labor Department data. Now, major retailers are scrambling to fill vacant positions and find it hard to get enough new workers and arranged at the door. Companies like Target and Best Buy have increased wages, while McDonald’s and Amazon offer recruitment bonuses. Still, a survey by Korn Ferry suggests that 94% of retailers have trouble filling empty positions.
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