Amid chronic staff shortage, many Yukon businesses struggle to stay open

Behind the Barn, an antique store in Whitehorse, used to be open six days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Now, their hours have been slashed in half.

Marlene Jennings, the store's owner, says she just doesn't have the staff to keep her doors open as long as she used to.

"I can't find workers," Jennings said. "I don't know where the people are."

Jennings says she increased her wages, offering up to $25 per hour for new employees, but is still struggling to find qualified workers.

"You know, we pulled people out of retirement to take the job," said Jennings.

She says she can't run her business with regular hours with so few staff.

"Once your store opens, you're not doing any of the other jobs," she said. "You're not stocking, you're not ordering, you're not doing your books and you're not cleaning."

Jennings is not the only business struggling with hiring. If you walk around Yukon's various communities, you'll find more than a few "help wanted" signs in store windows.

Service and retail businesses across the territory are short-staffed, according to Denny Kobayashi, executive director of the Yukon Chamber of Commerce.

Kobayashi said there are many reasons behind the recent labour shortages.

"It's somewhat of a perfect storm for that sector," he said,

He cited the Canada Emergency Response Benefits (CERB) as one of the policies that disincentivized people from getting back to work, but staffing still haven't improved since the program ended on Sept. 27, 2020 (though it was transitioned to a modified employment insurance program).

The main reason behind the current labour shortage, he said, is a mass exodus of service workers.