Britney Nguyen,Madison Hoff | Contributed

• Demands for rental units are declining as housing costs soar with the price of essentials like food.

• The average renter in the US would have to work over 64 hours to afford rent, Zillow data shows.

• Phoenix, Orlando, and Las Vegas are among the metropolitan areas where demand is slowing the most.

The typical US worker would’ve had to put in over 64 hours of work to be able to afford the average rent payment in September.

That’s an increase of a full 8-hour work day compared to the same time two years ago, when workers had to put in around 56 hours to be able to afford rent, data from Zillow shows.

The beginning of 2022 saw rent prices peak at almost 18% year-over-year growth, but now year-over-year growth is at 7.5% , according to Apartment List. Current rising inflation is adding more pressure to renters now, who have to deal with rising rent each year , and who Bloomberg said are “more likely to have less stable jobs and incomes.”

“Rents have grown much faster than incomes, putting the squeeze on renters’ budgets,” Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow, told Insider.

The data, which starts in 2015, shows that the hours needed to work to afford average rent in the US have fluctuated since then, and dipped the most during the beginning of the pandemic. Since the start of 2021, it’s mostly been on an incline.

Demand for rental units is slowing down as people have a harder time balancing soaring rents and the price of essentials like food and gas, with wages that are not keeping up with rising inflation.

“Rents have had a historic run-up, way beyond what fundamentals would justify,” Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told Bloomberg . “The Fed will not ease up until inflation abates, which requires rents to slow, the sooner the better and the harder the better, for quick relief.”

In metropolitan areas like Phoenix, Orlando, and Las Vegas, demand for rental units is slowing down the most , according to rental-data tracker RealPage.

This summer, the rental vacancy rate leached 40-year lows, and it may stay low in the near future, Tucker said.

“It’s possible more renters than usual will opt to renew where they are to avoid moving costs while so few other options are available, or maybe even double up with roommates to reduce costs,” Tucker said.

Other reasons for slowing demand include more younger people choosing to live at home compared to earlier during the coronavirus pandemic when housing demand was higher because people were moving out or choosing to move somewhere else due to remote work.

The good news, Tucker said, is that rent growth is “cooling off,” and there are more rental homes that will be available. Twice as many multifamily homes are being built right now than during the last peak in 2008, he added.

“Still, it may be several months before we see these units help raise vacancy rates and further east pressure in the rental market,” Tucker said.

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STOWE, Vt. (AP) — Eduardo Rovetto is hoping the state of Vermont’s reinstated requirement that people who are collecting unemployment benefits must seek work to qualify will help him hire enough staff for his restaurant in the resort town of Stowe.

After more than a year of coronavirus restrictions on his business, Piecasso Pizzeria & Lounge, he’s expecting a breakout summer tourism season. But like employers across the country, he’s worried he won’t have enough workers.

“We’ve been getting many excuses as to why not to return,” said Rovetto, who is offering a signing bonus of up to $600 to try to add 15 to 20 employees who agree to stay through the middle of October. “Obviously, it was a legitimate one with COVID, but, you know, I think that’s getting used less and less now. The vaccines are free; they are out there for anyone.”

Many employers are telling similar stories. Fourteen months after COVID-19 put hundreds of thousands of people out of work, the U.S. economy is rebounding and employers are desperate for workers.

The challenge was highlighted Friday when employers nationwide added 266,000 jobs, far fewer than expected, and businesses reported they couldn’t find people to fill the openings they have to keep up with the rapidly strengthening economic rebound.

To encourage people to return to work, more states are making it harder for people to stay on unemployment. Many blame the easy benefits that followed the pandemic, including what is now a $300-a-week supplemental federal payment on top of state benefits. The argument is that people make more money staying home than going back to work.

Several states have begun requiring those receiving unemployment benefits to show they are actively searching for work, and a few will stop providing the additional federal supplement.

It’s not just the hospitality sector that is scrambling to fill positions. Alene Candles, based in Milford, New Hampshire, is looking to fill 1,500 positions for its facility there and another in New Albany, Ohio, to meet demand for the holiday season. Company representatives will be participating in a number of virtual job fairs this month.

“We have had more than 100 positions open since the start of the year, and just recently we increased sign-on bonuses to $1,200 for hourly positions -– in-part because we are competing with an entity that can print its own money -– the federal government -– and its $300 per week additional unemployment benefit,” said CEO Rod Harl. “I would love to welcome those searching for work to join our team.”

On Monday, the state of New Hampshire reopened its job centers for the first time since the pandemic hit to help people looking for work, but only a handful showed up in the first few hours at the largest one in Manchester.

Labor experts say the shortage is not just about the $300 payment. Some unemployed people also have been reluctant to look for work because they fear catching the virus. Others have found new occupations rather than return to their old jobs. And many women, especially working mothers, have had to leave the workforce to care for children.

The details and the timing of the state-led efforts to get people back to work differ, but they are coming from states led by both Republicans and Democrats.

In addition to Vermont, states reinstating the work-search requirement include Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

“As President Reagan said, the best social program is a job,” Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, said when announcing the resumption of the work-search requirement. “This statement rings true today. Unemployment benefits are still available to Arizonans who need them, but now that plenty of jobs are available, those receiving the benefits should be actively looking for work.”

Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana and South Carolina are planning to stop accepting the $300 benefit.

In announcing last week that unemployed workers will no longer receive the additional benefit beginning June 27, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, said it was “doing more harm than good.”

Rachel Mata, an area manager for a Fayetteville, North Carolina-based staffing company, said it’s been increasingly difficult to find people for positions since the passage of the latest federal COVID-19 relief bill.

“We get candidates who will mention, ‘Hey, you know, why would I go to work when I get paid more on unemployment to sit at home?’” said Mata.

At a recent job fair, only one candidate showed up, said Mata, whose company, Mega Force Staffing Group Inc., mainly focuses on manufacturing jobs. In other cases, candidates have gone through the staffing company’s onboarding process, only to not show up on their start date.

In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the heart of the state’s $20 billion tourism industry, restaurants and resorts are scrambling for summer help. Angelo Verdone, an assistant general manager at Seaside Resorts, said hotels are so short-staffed that managers are working double duty, cleaning rooms and doing maintenance. He is working some front desk shifts.

Some applicants have responded to ads but failed to attend the interviews; others have gotten offers but did not show up to the job itself.

Though the company has offered a $500 sign-on bonus for its $11-an-hour housekeeping role, it got no takers.

“It’s not like they’re bad jobs,” Verdone said. “Most years, people are beating down the front door for the front desk jobs.”

William Spriggs, an economist at Howard University and the chief economist for the AFL-CIO, said the issue isn’t as simple as the unemployed being able to receive more benefits. He says the economy has changed.

He said he didn’t think the job-search requirement is bad, but it won’t solve the labor shortage.

“Matching workers to employers isn’t as easy as people think, which is what some of these employers are finding out,” Spriggs said.

There might be a lot of jobs available, but in some cases they don’t fit for the unemployed with specialized work skills.

“I am a master technician with 30 years experience. You think I am going to go work in a pet store?” said Harry Chaikin, an out-of-work stagehand from Burlington, Vermont, who lost his job last year when the theater where he works stopped offering performances.

Chaikin says he is eager to return to work when theaters resume normal performances. He’s receiving unemployment, including the $300 supplemental benefit, but he’s still months behind in his rent.

“The sense of optimism I feel is that human nature being what it is, I know that sooner or later people are going to gather again in big groups to be entertained. And when that happens, I will have work,” he said.

And people are still losing their jobs.

Crystal Dvorak, 41, an audiologist in Billings, Montana, who has two teenage daughters, weathered a furlough early in the pandemic and had to dip deep into her savings. Last month, she found out she would lose her job when the clinic where she worked for nearly nine years had been sold.

When the governor announced the $300 supplemental benefit would end, it was Dvorak’s second day of unemployment.

“It had me in tears,” she said.

The state plans to launch a new program to give one-time $1,200 bonuses to unemployed workers who return to work. Dvorak has begun applying for waitressing jobs, even though it could complicate her search for positions in her field.

“Knowing that change is coming, I’m having to be open to other positions,” she said. “I have shown interest in more jobs in the last week than I have applied for my entire 25 years of working.”

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Strait On

I managed to catch San Jacinto Mayor Andrew Kotyuk during a recess from his campaigning for the 42nd Assembly District seat and he brought me up to date about how the City is coping with all the aspects of COVID-19 and how it is being handled in his City. “First of all, we have created a web site. Just go to the City of San Jacinto on your phone or computer and punch in the COVID site. All of our current handling of the virus situation will be listed there and updated daily.” The City has closed down all community centers.

“We are also issuing meals for seniors and shut-ins in five meal packs. They can be picked up by them or can send someone else to pick them up.” The Mayor says that anyone can contact the city hall by phone, internet or mail and that seniors also may e-mail the City for any necessary assistance. He went on further, “It is our intent to make our city services as available as possible.” Additionally, the Riverside Transit Authority has agreed to expand its Dial-a-Ride for medicals, groceries and to accommodate neighbors in a group.

“We have declared an emergency situation for the present time. That will be the case until the proper authorities advise us that it is safe to do otherwise.” The Mayor has also requested funding and medical assistance from Congress, including test kits, PPE (Personal protective equipment), and ventilators. “We are partnering with U.S. Mayors and National League of Cities.” They have initiated another avenue of service, the likes of which I haven’t seen anywhere else. “We are doing POD Casts on Mondays at 1 pm for the public with live Q&A and for businesses at 1 pm on Wednesdays.”

“It is one of our primary desires to connect with both Federal and State Organizations for further assistance.” The City is coordinating with churches and other non-profit organizations for assistance. The Mayor adds, “The Elks are currently conducting blood drives. I might add something of importance to students. We are working diligently with the School Districts for on-line studies.” He has asked the City to increase funding for public safety and health, and also, “I am requesting the City to establish a 115 Trust to take care of unfunded Pension Liabilities. And I urge other communities to follow suit. Once the market becomes normal, those funds will flow once again in a normal fashion.”

He urges that folks with WIC Cars who are not limited to buy items with WIC stickers to use their cards for other products so those who must buy only items with WIC stickers will not run short. The City, thinking in advance, is publishing a list of restaurants with take-out and delivery services of food. Finally, “I would suggest hiking, bike riding, swimming and other outdoor activities that do not involve a lot of people.. Use common sense and we should all get through these trying times. It seems to this reporter that Mayor Kotyuk and his city council are on top of the situation. Other communities might take heed. Just sayin’ rustystrait@gmail.com

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