GREENSBORO, N.C. — Tyler Rhodes has been working at Terminix for over 5 years.

“I like the freedom of the job really, being able to come in and decide how much money I’m going to make that day,” he said. “I mean, if you really hustle and get after it, you can make a considerable amount of money.”

 

        What You Need to Know

  • The country is dealing with a nationwide labor shortage
  • Even big companies, like Terminix, are affected
  • Jobs are available but getting people to apply is the problem

 

Rhodes is a team lead, and he’s worked at the pest control company ever since he moved to Greensboro from Charlotte. With the housing market booming, it isn’t a bad job to have.

“Positions are opening up, I mean, pretty rapidly,” Rhodes said. “There’s a sticker always on the truck for ‘now hiring’ and that’s why.”

The pandemic created a boom for the pest control industry, which in turn created more jobs for the company.

“The big thing is everybody’s at home, everybody’s not in the offices the way they used to be, and it created an explosion of pest-startups – people that are wanting to take care of their homes,” Terminix Branch Manager Akeem Hale said.

“It’s really opened up for us to start hiring a good bit more people,” Rhodes added.

There’s just been one problem: the company is having trouble filling spots.

“Before, I could post a job and have hundreds of applicants pop in,” Hale said. “But right now, when you actually list a job, the actual (number of) applicants is just a lot lower.”

You might think that a job that starts around $40,000 a year would have lines out the door. But that isn’t the case.

“The money is definitely there. It’s a great position, it’s a great culture here at Terminix,” Hale said. “Just getting people in the door, just like a lot of other businesses right now…It’s tough to do.”

Whether it’s finances, pandemic fears, burnout, job responsibilities or something else, companies around the country are facing a labor shortage. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows there were more than 10 million job openings around the country in August.

For context, the average over the last 10 years is less than 6 million.

And the ones who fill them like them – just ask Rhodes.

“I’m going to be at Terminix as long as they have me,” he said. “I mean, it’s honestly the best job I’ve ever had.”