Outdoor lifestyle store owner Diane Petryna said government may need to create a subsidy for workers looking to bridge the city's employment gap. She is struggling to find people to work at her store. ((Courtesy Take A Hike))

There's a glut of jobs in Thunder Bay, but few people are applying for them.

For local retailer Diane Petryna, staff is hard to find. She said hiring is the toughest part of her job.

“It's extremely challenging,” she said.

The same sentiment holds true at a nearby restaurant called the Retro Diner, where kitchen staff are being forced out front to wait tables.

No one is applying for the waitressing jobs, which have been advertised twice.

Yes Employment Services currently has 50 local service sector jobs available in its job bank, but there are few takers.

James Loughton, an employment service representative at Yes, said in January, employers often lay people off — which makes this glut of positions unusual.

But he said lots of the people looking for employment are laid off mill workers and it's difficult to convince them to take a job at minimum wage.

“There's not many of those [high] paying positions available in the city now,” Loughton said. “I think … the disconnect is wage.”

Back at her outdoor lifestyle store called Take a Hike, Petryna said the service sector can't afford to pay big wages, while charging customers low prices. She said government may need to create a subsidy for workers looking to bridge the city's employment gap.

“It would allow people to transition from some of the jobs that aren't there any longer — but were high paying — and transition into the service sector.”

Thunder Bay - Rainy River MP John Rafferty said he supports the idea of a transition program to help workers nearing retirement or those looking for a new job get service industry skills — people who could help fill the vacancies.

"You know if you have a retail shortage, or a shortage of retail workers, it seems to me that somebody in Ottawa needs to know that,” he said.

Rafferty said a re-training program could create employment for workers not just in Thunder Bay but across the country.

Petryna agreed.

“Rather than subsidizing [or] bailing out some of the bigger corporations or industries, take that money and start investing in the service sector where there's a shortage today,” she said. “There's going to be a growing shortage.”

In the meantime, Petryna said she’d love to hear from those looking for work.