Worker shortage besets a buzzing New Orleans

Jerry La Fleur and her husband moved away from New Orleans a year and a half ago, but quickly felt the pull to return home.

Then hurricane Katrina hit, and they knew they had to go back. So they began searching online for jobs.

That's when Ms. La Fleur saw a posting for her dream job at Langenstein's Market - a small, family-run grocery store with one of the best reputations in town. "I didn't have a chance at this store before Katrina," says La Fleur, who is now assistant to the produce buyer. "Nobody ever left their jobs here."

There may not be stoplights or gas stations in much of the city, but there are plenty of jobs. So many positions are going unfilled, in fact, that businesses are offering higher salaries and signing bonuses. Some are even going so far as to give free housing, transportation, and laundry services.

An adequate number of workers, of course, is crucial to New Orleans' success. The construction sector has experienced a big boom - but even it is struggling to find enough workers. Indeed, on top of the regular number of people required to run a Wendy's or a Walgreens, thousands more are needed for the city's reconstruction.

To cope with the shortages, some businesses are scaling back hours. But even as they implement such short-term solutions, they're looking ahead to longer-term issues, particularly housing. For many would-be returnees, finding a place to live is nearly impossible: As many as 210,000 homes, or half of the city's housing stock, are still uninhabitable, says Loren Scott, a professor emeritus at Louisiana State University and president of an economic forecasting firm in Baton Rouge.

"There are stores that are desperate to open, but the reason they can't is because their employees can't find a place to live," he says. "It's the mother of all problems."

Some workers are busing in each day from as far away as Baton Rouge, about an 80-mile trip one way. Others are sleeping in trailers or tents or on barges. Some are bunking with friends whose homes survived.

Those who are here and working, though, say they are just glad to be back: The opportunities have never been better.

Kevin Rapp, a UPS driver, went back to New Orleans about a month ago and made temporary repairs to his home before returning to work.

"The job situation is really crazy right now," says Mr. Rapp, rapidly loading packages onto a dolly. "There are help-wanted signs everywhere."

UPS alone needs more than 100 workers in the city - mostly in its warehouse. And with the holiday season here and stores restocking their shelves after the hurricane, Rapp is working 13 hours a day, six days a week.

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