Companies loosen job requirements but challenges remain

NEW YORK (AP) — Landing a waitressing job or bartending gig at the Lost Dog Cafe in Northern Virginia had never been easy.

“Help Wanted” signs were a rarity, and half the chain's staff stuck around for at least 10 years. The onset of the pandemic made job prospects even worse when Lost Dog had to temporarily shut down indoor dining.

But as vaccinated patrons rushed back to eat out and once-loyal workers moved onto new opportunities, the business began struggling in May to fill the roughly 20% in vacancies on its service staff.

To address the shortage, it did something it hadn't done before: look to people without experience. It also started recruiting workers under 18.

Lost Dog is one of a growing number of companies that, in a desperation for hired hands, is loosening restrictions on everything from age to level of experience. Drug store chain CVS announced earlier in August it would no longer require a minimum high school degree to fill entry level spots at its stores. This year, it also plans to end its GPA requirement of 3.0 when it recruits on college campuses. Meanwhile, Amazon has stopped testing job seekers for marijuana.

The changing standards may have helped boost hiring this summer, even as many companies complained they couldn't find all the workers they need. Employers added a hefty 940,000 jobs in both June and July, lowering the unemployment rate to 5.4%.

On Friday, the government will release figures for August, and economists forecast they will show another 750,000 jobs were added that month, with unemployment falling to 5.2%. Some analysts worry job gains will come in lower because of the delta variant, but are optimistic about hiring in the fall.

The trend to relax the rules started about three years ago when the labor market started to tighten. It...