LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The unemployment rate has been below 4% for more than two years, the longest streak since the 1960s.
That’s because economic growth over the past few years has been matched by a strong job market, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Pratik Ghimire, a manager at The Oven, said competition for new employees is fierce.
“It’s a little bit tougher than it was before. Post-corona, you can clearly see the contrast,” he said. “We get a lot of people coming, but it’s very short-lived. We’re talking to a lot of bars and restaurants around us, and it’s kind of the same problem that everyone is facing.”
Ghimire said the restaurant is hiring “on an ongoing basis” and plans to frequently hire UNL students.
But it can be difficult to draw them in when so many other places are doing the same thing.
He posts job openings online, advertises in student unions on campus, and even offers benefits to encourage the position.
“If we sell enough, we’ll give them a nice bottle of wine,” Ghimire said. “We give them free meals, but not all restaurants give free meals. And you also get a discount when you take food.”
The U.S. economy added more than 270,000 jobs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ghimiel said it won’t be too difficult to find a job as Lincoln continues to grow.
“When the coronavirus thing happened, it was tough,” he said. “But right after that, all of a sudden, there was a flood of job openings. I think things got a little easier.”
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