As the weather heats up and spring break turns into summer vacation, tourism demand in south Baldwin County—specifically Foley, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores—will peak for the year. At the same time, the rapid growth in Baldwin County is straining the area’s beleaguered service and hospitality industries.

“There’s been substantial growth in the county…it puts a stress on the industry beyond what would be caused by tourism,” Ed Bushaw, executive director of the South Baldwin Regional Workforce Development Authority, said. “It’s kind of a perfect storm.”

Bushaw estimates that the region is 10,000-12,000 employees short of what would be needed to meet demand, he said. With the number of businesses under development in the area, an additional 6,000 employees would be needed, Bushaw estimates.

The labor shortage isn’t unique to Baldwin County. Across the country, many places are struggling to hire, even as unemployment remains low. But unlike the national labor shortage, which was in part brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the labor shortage in Baldwin County is spurred by the rapid growth in the area, Bushaw said. It’s also not a new issue: he said that the labor shortage in the region has been an issue since the 1990s.

For Brian Harsany, who owns Cosmos Restaurant Group, staffing has been an issue as long as he’s been in the business. And as the island grows and the competition for workers heats up, he says it’s been harder and harder to find people. At the height of the pandemic, three years ago, Harsany said his businesses ran 2,000 hours of overtime every week during the summer.