TOLEDO, Ohio — Unemployment numbers in Lucas County are doing better than the national average, sitting at around five percent in March. But businesses are still finding it extremely hard to find workers.
Theo Foreman with the Ohio Means Job Center in Lucas County says there's a growing demand for higher wages.
Shayna Krasula, a single mom in Toledo, working part-time right now, calls the stimulus checks and unemployment compensation a "wake-up" call to businesses.
"I think we all should continue to sit at home until we get the wages we deserve," said Krasula.
We first spoke to Krasula back in December. At that time, she was looking for a job that would allow her to work and take care of her six-year-old son.
But she couldn't find anything that would fit her schedule and pay her more than she'd got from unemployment last year from May to September.
"I don't think it's fair for these giant companies to not be paying people what we're worth," said Krasula. "Meanwhile we're the ones that are struggling, we're the ones that are keeping the businesses together."
Today, she's off unemployment, working part-time in behavioral health and back to school.
She's living off her school loans and saving the recent stimulus checks for a rainy day. But she says the system is broken and businesses need to do more for things like healthcare and childcare.
"I was working three years and did not have health insurance," she said, "and now that I'm not working full time, now I have health insurance. How screwed is that?"
Foreman says they've seen a weird phenomenon with unemployment dropping but employers still having trouble filling open positions. He says demand is increasing for workers, especially in the food and entertainment industry.
"Wage rates are starting to creep up as business owners realize they can't attract the labor they want with the previous wages," said Foreman.
Krasula stressed single people, couples, and families who are choosing unemployment over work are just doing what's best for them. They're making the same economic decision that businesses need to make. And Foreman says businesses may need to adapt.
"If you had a hard time getting in the door before, knock now they might answer," he said. "That would be my advice to job seekers. And as for employers. You have to look at new ways to fish."