South Florida Seasonal Help Is In Extreme Demand

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – If you are in need of some extra cash, now's the time to be looking for a job in South Florida. Seasonal help is in extreme demand and businesses are anxious to find employees.

At Donna's Caribbean Restaurant, which has 13 locations, they have dozens of jobs to fill, from cooks to dishwashers.

"It's been difficult getting help and I know it's a dilemma for all employers nowadays," said General District Manager Lisa Sarno.

Sarno said it is especially busy now with catering orders and holiday parties.  "It's been challenging" she said.

"Due to the lack of help some locations have had to close an hour early and we hate to see that because our food is in demand," she said.

It's so challenging that nearby business owner Carmen McLeod spends her days scouring job sites looking for seasonal help.  She runs Miami Direct Furniture, a booming internet company with a showroom.  But she can't find anyone to answer the phone.

"We are looking for bodies.  But its also difficult to get people to interview or show up at all," she laments.

Even though seasonal work pays. A quick look at recent posts on the job site "Indeed" shows Macy's in Miami offering $17.50 an hour, coaching jobs in Sunrise paying $15 an hour and the Bath and Body Works in Doral paying $12 an hour.

If you have a young teenager, child labor laws allow more work hours during the winter break which is getting underway.  In Florida, a 14 and 15-year-old can work up to eight hours a day.

Karla Geraldo just graduated from FIU with a marketing degree and said based on the want-ads it is an employee market.

"There's a lot of opportunities but not enough people to fill he positions," she said.

The biggest advantage for an employee right now is that seasonal help can sometimes lead to a full time job If you find the workplace is a good fit.

Lisa Sarno said that happens frequently at Donna's Caribbean restaurants.

"Most of the students who come to work for us stay full time" she said.