As businesses across North America, including laundry operators, continue a slow recovery from COVID-19, a recent rise in U.S. labor participation (61.8%, the highest since March 2020) has analysts predicting that the tight labor market for job candidates might loosen up a bit in 2022. However, unemployment dropped to 4.2% in November 2021, and fierce competition for job candidates—including a virtual bidding war on wages—seems likely to continue in the new year. With that in mind, many laundries are pursuing innovative alternatives to fill their ranks. Below, we explore three examples.

REVVED-UP REFERRALS

For Unitex’s Jennifer Ciardullo, harnessing the ...