Myrtle Beach chamber works to combat worker shortages along Grand Strand

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – Myrtle Beach’s leading business organization is working to combat the worker shortage that has hit many places along the Grand Strand.

The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (MBACC) and Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) are continuing to develop creative solutions to bring in more workers.

Many businesses and restaurants are facing worker shortages. Some restaurants have to close at least one day a week in order to give their workers a break, and others are offering sign-on bonuses.

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The chamber has launched a series of promotional campaigns to target retirees, veterans, teachers, college students and high school students. It is also working with Coastal Carolina University to recruit students and offer summer housing for students to choose to stay and work along the Grand Strand.

In a collaboration with the S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association and S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, there is a pilot program in Horry County that will match employees with open jobs.

And on the federal level, the chamber continues to advocate for assistance with J1 and H2B Visa personnel to get more workers to our area.

The chamber also continues to use its job bank to offer businesses a way to list their job openings for free.

On Friday DEW Executive Director Dan Ellzey released a statement, saying that there are 85,000 available jobs in the state, but there are 116,000 people receiving unemployment benefits.

“That really does not make sense, and we have to get people to start looking for jobs,” Ellzey said in the statement.

On Sunday, DEW reinstated a requirement for claimants to submit two work searches per week to remain eligible for benefits.

Claimants will have to either complete two work searches via the SC Works Online Services account or the SCWOS app or certify their claims on the DEW’s app in the MyBenefits portal.

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