ROCHESTER — If you enjoy going out to eat, just wait. The restaurant business, it seems, will be booming. According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, by 2030 the number of employees needed in food preparation and service in southeastern Minnesota is expected to have grown by nearly 3,300 jobs over the previous decade.
That's 17.8% more jobs, 17.8% more workers needed.
ADVERTISEMENT But filling those positions will be difficult. "We just don’t have enough bodies, we do not have enough people to fill the jobs that are out there," said Jinny Rietmann, executive director for Workforce Development, Inc. in Rochester.
While the number of jobs available grows each month in the region, Rietmann says there are not enough workers to fill those spots. And the lack of workers isn't just in food service. Construction, health care, retail, education, public administration, transportation and warehousing, and many other industries are all looking at current and future shortages of workers.
Workforce experts, hiring managers and business owners say finding workers to do the jobs required remains difficult in Southeast Minnesota and across the state. With two iconic restaurants — Mantorville's The Hubbell House and Canadian Honker in Rochester — as well as catering and banquet services that provide the food to a host of event venues, Powers Ventures is a heavyweight in the food service industry in Southeast Minnesota. "We have about 150 full-time empl.
