Many Summit County business owners have struggled to staff up throughout the better half of 2021. Posting openings on job sites like Indeed, spreading the word on social media and relying on word-of-mouth have reaped.
Photo by Jason Connolly / Jason Connolly Photography
, building additional affordable apartments these strategies and more have all been tossed around as possible solutions to help mitigate the county’s lack of workforce housing, which in turn has contributed to a labor shortage. Another suggestion by community members is for businesses to raise wages to help balance the high cost of living in Summit County.
Though this strategy might seem appealing on the surface, Sandy Struve said it’s not that simple. Struve owns multiple Breckenridge shops including The Christmas Store, Mountain Tees and Cabin Fever.
“It’s not coming out of their pockets,” Struve said about people who suggest raising wages. “Businesses do what they have to do. If we have to raise wages more, that makes our product cost more to the consumer. People have to realize that when they say to raise wages, the end product is going to cost you more.”