Dec. 31—EDITOR'S NOTE — It's called "The Great Resignation," a seismic upheaval in the workforce that is reshaping today's economy. This week, Forum Communication Co. reporters will look at The Great Resignation's profound effects on workers and businesses across the region in our multi-part series, "Help Wanted."
ROCHESTER — It's nearly forgotten now, but it was only last year that Brian Cooper and other grocery store workers entered one of the strangest episodes of their lives.
They were hailed as heroes for their willingness to work at a time when bars, restaurants and fitness centers were closed to stem the tide of a deadly virus.
Cooper, who manages Silver Lake Foods in Rochester, says he never felt comfortable being compared to health care workers who were trying to save lives amid a raging infectious disease.
"I couldn't put myself on the same level as people who work in intensive care units," Cooper said.
Yet, there is little question that Cooper and other grocery employees — as well as liquor store workers, home health care aides and others — played key roles in sustaining critical elements of the economy at a time of uncertain peril when so little was known about COVID-19.
How different from today when millions have disappeared from the labor market and businesses are desperate for workers.
It was an unsettling time in the early weeks of the pandemic last year, Cooper recalls. Shelves for toilet paper were empty. Cooper can remember stacking shelves all day to fill the demand. Amid the hectic activity, a sense of foreboding filled the air.
"To me, it felt like this storm cloud coming," he said.
In addition, grocery store workers found themselves playing or expected to play the role of public health enforcers or referees.
One time, Cooper was called from the freezer to the front office to deal with a customer upset about the lack of hand sanitizers. Cooper tried to explain to the woman that the item was in high demand, and Silver Lake Foods wasn't the only store struggling to find it.
At the end of 2021, businesses face a different set of challenges, trying to fill open positions when a reported 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in August.
North Dakota has the 13th lowest unemployment rate in the nation, with 3.3%, while Minnesota trailed closely at just 3.5%, according to November numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But during the height of the pandemic, the work of holding up key parts of the economy fell to a certain subset of employees.