LANCASTER, S.C. (WBTV) -It is not officially spring yet, but one county in South Carolina is getting a head start hiring for summer jobs.
The county is starting the summer recruiting process so early this year. Lancaster County says it is committed to providing quality services especially in the summer for pools and summer camps. They want to do this by raising the minimum wage.
It is race against the clock for council members in Lancaster County. Pools and rec centers are having trouble recruiting workers.
To help with the problem the county is proposing increasing the minimum wage from $8 to $12.
The county raised the minimum wage to $12 an hour, which will start in June.
This not only benefits incoming seasonal and part-time workers but also the people who are already working in the county making under $12.
The county administrator, Dennis Marstall, says COVID-19 has decreased the number of people the county usually recruits but there has been a higher demand for county services. He says the council hopes the pay bump can help the county in the foreseeable uphill battle.
”We are looking ahead to make sure we are competitive in the market. We know it’s a tough job market right now and we want to make sure Lancaster County is out ahead of this,” says Marstall.
When the final bell rings and school gets out for the summer, kids suddenly get a lot of free time.
”It’s school for the school year but then what are you going to do for the summer?” says Chris Moken.
It is a question a lot of parents find themselves asking, especially when your office is your home.
”You can’t be working from home and watching a 5-year old,” says Moken.
That is why Chris Moken enrolls his son in summer camp at Kenaki Academy.
”It’s to have him do something. Instead of him being at home bothering us. He does really well here,” says Moken.
Camps and other summer activities offer a life preserver for working parents. and it is that reason why Lancaster County is trying to staff their seasonal workers up now.
”For our summer programs to make sure what we have to offer is robust, we want to make sure we have good staffing for those,” says Marstall.
Marstall says the $12 an hour minimum wage makes them competitive, so they can attract the candidates they want.
”We thought about this strategy and we did look at the private sector and a lot of the fast food, retail and others are paying that market range,” he says.
So what happens if the county can’t staff those camps and pools? Marstall says they will not be able to open but he says that is why the county’s doing the work now so parents like Moken will not have to worry.
”Our last desire is to have any programs we have to close due to staffing but our intention is to have full staff, full programs open,” says Marstall.
”Cause otherwise working parent you have to juggle ok how do I work and how do I watch a toddler while I’m working? It’s very difficult,” says Moken.
Council already agreed to bump up that $12 minimum wage. The county administrator tells me that will start in June.
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