Hospitality businesses across Orange are struggling to find workers with the blame going to Job Seeker payments.
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Jeremy Norris has several businesses including Byng Street Local Store, the coffee cart at Orange Hospital, Cafe Bloom at the new Bloomfield Hospital, and Larder and Home at Lucknow.
Mr Norris said the struggle to find employees was across the board and if one chef walked out it may jeopardise a business and he is not alone with chefs being in high demand in Orange.
"We are now using an agency from Sydney who usually can send us staff fairly regularly," Mr Norris said.
"We've been looking for chefs and baristas for months."
He said potential workers appeared to be happy to lose the extra few hundred dollars a fortnight they would earn, if it meant they could stay home.
"We are developing a culture at the moment where nobody wants to work," Mr Norris said.
Although the Job Seeker payment was reduced this month from $250 to $150 a fortnight on top of normal payments, Mr Norris said he still hasn't had a response to jobs he advertised.
Every time we put an ad out we are getting nothing at all, usually we get 30 to 40.
- Jeremy Norris
"We've got signs up in the store and everything," he said.
"It's frustrating because we are trying to keep local business going."
Mr Norris said he has reached a point where he is about to sponsor two people from overseas to work for him for three to five years. He said some people will say the jobs should go to Australians but they didn't come forward.
Mr Norris said while he looked forward to the end of Job Seeker, he was grateful for Job Keeper.
Factory Espresso coowner Ruby Gleeson said the cafe retained its casual staff but half moved on to other pursuits and it's been more difficult than usual to find replacements.
She said the people who applied through job agencies did not appear to want to work so she hired the people who walked through the door with their applications.
"It's only just half our casuals so we were lucky," Mrs Gleeson said.
"When we did the recruiting process there were more people who were interested in staying at home and claiming Job Seeker than getting a job.
"The applications that we got were not as many as we used to have.
"Staffing is always an issue, especially in the hospitality industry where turnover is very high.
"I think one of the things that stopped people from going out to find work is the higher welfare payment."
Mrs Gleeson said high school and university students made up the majority of applicants but she will have to start recruiting again in February when school and university start.
One job search site had 35 hospitality positions in Orange for wait staff, baristas, chefs and bar tenders, as well as hospitality positions in several aged care facilities.
Supa IGA has also taken to social media to find employees.
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