Businesses both big and small in 亚洲天堂 Lake are working hard to fill positions, affecting companies鈥� ability to work at full capacity.

There are several notices posted around the village seeking applicants for jobs.

But for a variety of reasons the positions remain unfilled.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 find anyone who can work at lunch. Only after school,鈥� Muoi Ly, co-owner of the longstanding China Moon Restaurant told Lakes District 亚洲天堂.

In the summer she and her husband Tuong have an easier time hiring staff to work in the day, but the employment cycle after then slows down their business.

As a result, the pair have to fill those roles themselves.

鈥淲e have to work longer,鈥� said Tuong, who added that on Saturdays they open only in the evening because it鈥檚 too much work for them during the day.

It also affects the customer experience because fewer staff means less service for them, the owners explained.

The problem persists with larger companies too, including Tahtsa Timber, which employs 160 people at its 亚洲天堂 Lake location, and about 20 on Vancouver Island.

Stephen Burkholder, general manager of the Tahtsa Group said the company puts a lot of effort into hiring local people, but it鈥檚 difficult to find the right skills among candidates in this area.

鈥淚t does restrict our ability to take advantage of other business opportunities we see. We鈥檝e expanded here and in Houston and we just see potential to do more in and around here, but our main problem is finding the workforce,鈥� he said.

Industry trends outside the control of the region have also seen potential local employees go elsewhere for work, further shrinking the pool of candidates.

鈥淚n the forestry industry we鈥檝e come under pressure with our pay structure because we compete with other high-paying industries like mining and gas,鈥� Burkholder said.

From the viewpoint of Rose Edgeworth, a case manager with employment resource agency Work BC, the number of local job vacancies has recently increased.

Most of the employers looking for new staff are in the retail, restaurant, services and industrial sectors.

A large part of the employment issue here is related to the size of the community and its rural location, said Edgeworth.

鈥淸Living here is] not for everyone. People with those skills might not be inclined to live in a small community.鈥�

For job-seeking locals already living here, Edgeworth pointed out certain factors that put some of them at a disadvantage when looking for work, such as not having a driver鈥檚 license in a rural area.

There could however be change in the air, as some younger people with skills move here for job opportunities that might be harder to find in large cities.

鈥淚t used to be local people and maybe people who had moved here looking at semi-retirement,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut now we鈥檙e seeing a lot of younger people coming here for the quality of life or wanting to start families.鈥�

As of October, 2018 the unemployment rate in British Columbia stood at 4.1 per cent, the lowest rate in Canada, according to the Labour Force Statistics Highlights paper published by BC Stats.

The North Coast/Nechako region of the province has an average unemployment rate of 4.7 per cent, with the Kootenay region in the southeast having the highest at 6.2 per cent.