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Sevier County businesses hope more employees will return to work after state ends COVID-19 unemployment benefits

Many businesses are struggling to meet the renewed demand, so they are increasing pay and offering sign-on bonuses to woo workers back into open jobs.

SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — With COVID-19 restrictions easing and more people returning to their pre-pandemic habits, many businesses across East Tennessee and the country are now faced with a new challenge: bringing back workers who were laid off during the pandemic.

Many states, including Tennessee, are now trying to find ways to incentivize people to return to work as businesses struggle to fill thousands upon thousands of newly re-opened positions -- including opting out of federal benefits that were designed to help displaced workers who were struggling to find jobs during the height of the pandemic's impact on business.

Spanish Version: Negocios en Condado de Sevier esperan que más empleados vuelvan a trabajar después de que el estado ponga fin a los beneficios por desempleo

Gov. Bill Lee this week announced the Tennessee Department of Labor would no longer offer an additional $300 in weekly unemployment benefits through the federal pandemic unemployment assistance program.

Unemployment expert Dr. Marianne Wanamaker from the University of Tennessee said the end of the program could get more people back to work. 

“Well, I think it certainly will force people back into the labor market more quickly,” said Wanamaker. 

For many in the Sevier County, this change is welcome news. 

The tourism and hospitality industries were some of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Now that a growing percentage of people across the U.S. have been vaccinated, and public confidence in traveling safely is returning, spots like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge have a lot to look forward to this summer.

Businesses like Wilderness at the Smokies are most definitely ready to hire more people.

“Well, we fully support the end to the federal unemployment benefit. And we think this will help expedite getting people back to work,” said Nikki Harrell at Wilderness at The Smokies.

It could be a very busy summer for these businesses. Economists say many families are looking for ways to spend the extra cash they received and saved up during the pandemic.

“Now, the tension is that all that money that went to households, households are ready to spend it,” said Wanamaker. “And on the other side, we don't have the labor supply to be able to supply all of the goods and services that this consumer demand is now ready to spend on so we really do have a mismatch, it's temporary, it will go away eventually.” 

The mismatch in high consumer demand and reduced labor is putting businesses in a tough position. 

“But in the short run, it's really unpleasant for employers who are trying to hire workers,” said 

Amusement parks in the area are now enticing new workers with incentives to bring their staffing back up to meet this renewed demand. 

“We've been offering a lot of incentives such as sign-on bonuses, and increased wages. So we're thrilled with this news and this development,” said Harrell. 

Other parks like Dollywood and Anakeesta are hosting hiring events in the coming weeks. 

Anakeesta is offering a $400 sign-on bonus to new employees in certain positions such as servers and lift operators, as well as a $150 bonus for workers who recruit new people.

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