A "help wanted" sign is seen at an office in Elgin earlier this year. Many signs like this are still being seen throughout the Fox Valley as we near Labor Day weekend. (Nam Y. Huh / AP)

As we head into this holiday weekend, the two-word theme of Labor Day ‘22 can be seen posted front and center on storefronts and Facebook and every place else where work is required: HELP WANTED.

With national unemployment numbers hovering at 3.5%, Illinois at 4.4%; and Kane County at 4.5%, this sign of the times should be followed by an exclamation point because what’s great news for the labor market is a constant source of frustration – and at times desperation – for those looking for workers.

The labor shortage is without question affecting all aspects of our lives, from entertainment to education to health care to business. Take a drive down Randall Road, for example, and “NOW HIRING” signage is so ubiquitous it’s simply blended into the retail landscape.

Jason Burkett, manager with Save a Lot grocery store on Lake Street in Aurora, admitted he “struggles with turnover,” and often has to put in long hours to cover shifts, including for employees who decide suddenly “they don’t want to come in to work any more.”

Owners try to take care of the staff, he said. “But it’s not always the greatest pay, and workers see this as a jumping off point,” frequently moving on to factory jobs, then sometimes returning, he added, when they realize that work is too hard or too mundane.

“At least there is comfort in knowing you are not alone,” Burkett said. “A lot of other places are going through it too.”

Paramount Theatre in Aurora, which reported a critical labor shortage earlier in the year, is again looking to fill a list of full- and part-time positions that include front house associate, bar-back, cafe attendant, PGE concierge, front house manager, security and cleaning staff.

“The entertainment industry as a whole is short-staffed. Theaters and performing arts centers are looking for staff on both sides of the stage,” said Jim Jarvis, vice president of sales and programming for the Paramount.

Concert venues are in the same boat, he continued, with tours competing to put together lighting, sound and roadie teams.

“Even the big talent agencies we work with,” Jarvis noted, “are short-staffed.”

As are restaurants, which “are continuing to struggle,” according to Rebecca Kussmann, who has handled marketing for such places as Stolp Island Social in downtown Aurora.

Likewise, the Fox Valley Park District, which faced a critical shortage this summer that even resulted in the closing of Phillips Park Family Aquatic Center for lack of lifeguards, still has a long list of unfilled positions heading into fall.

Spokesman Tim Wagner puts that number at around 70. The majority of openings, he said, are seasonal or part-time, such as swim instructors, coaches, birthday party attendants, bus drivers and, of course, lifeguards. But there are also a handful of full-time positions in operations that include facilities and grounds maintenance.

Also, if you are paying any attention at all, you can’t help but know there’s a staffing shortage hitting school districts across the board. Now a couple weeks into the new year, East Aurora School District 131, for example, is still seeking to hire 25 classroom teachers, 20 teacher assistants, a couple of clerical workers and a custodian.

And if you flew anywhere this summer, you need no friendly reminder of what airlines are grappling with.

In an article that appeared recently in the Chicago Tribune, one expert described the situation as the “canary in the coal mine,” referring to what we will face in the future, as “Boomers retire, population growth slows and training lags.”

The staffing gaps airlines are experiencing, especially with pilots, is indicative of what’s happening in many major fields, particularly those that require extensive training, noted the authors, who included the president of a leading labor market research firm.

With job openings growing faster than the available workforce, these experts went on to warn that airlines won’t be the only companies that must become more creative in how they hire and train employees.

Which brings us closer to the ground and closer to home.

One of the many career fields struggling to keep up with demand, particularly after the pandemic resulted in a tsunami of mental health issues, is counseling.

Because staffing shortages are even more pronounced in nonprofits, which lose therapists to the private sector all too often, Family Counseling Service of Aurora had no choice but to think outside the box, insisted Executive Director Eric Ward.

“Like everyone else, we were having such high turnover rates, we got tired of banging our head against the wall,” he said. “So we decided to grow our own.”

What that entailed is a recently-formed partnership with several colleges, including Aurora University, which have long provided Family Counseling Service with unpaid graduate student interns.

Under the new program – it started in July with start-up funding from INC Mental Health Alliance – master’s students receive a salary as well as additional training from Family Counseling Service, which is already known for its continuing education opportunities.

This partnership not only offers valuable experience in community counseling as students check off their internship requirements, they also have a full-time job with benefits, Ward pointed out.

What FCS receives in return is a one-year contract upon graduation which, in essence, “gives us two years of their service.”

So far “it is going well,” added Ward, who hopes that “by the end of the year we have really good things” to report.

“We just figured,” he said, “we needed to stop complaining and go find solutions.”

Speaking of which, Wagner praised the Fox Valley Park District staff for collectively banding together, despite being “incredibly shorthanded across the board” this summer. Not only did camps flourish, the outdoor concert series enjoyed a record 6,000 attendees, and more than 300,000 people visited Stuart Sports Complex since May.

“Short of a pandemic, I can’t imagine a scenario where the park district would ever not welcome seasonal help, and plenty of it,” said Wagner. “As long as the grass grows and snow flies, we’ll be hiring.”