Duval County

Flower market feeling effects of hiring shortage at busiest time of the year

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sunday is Mother’s Day, and there’s a good chance Mom will be expecting some flowers.

However, between the combination of a flower shortage and a hiring shortage, many flower shops have had to turn away extra business.

During the busiest time of the year, the Jacksonville Flower Market is low on holiday staff.

A look at the front door shows a sign that reads, “drivers needed.”

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While on Saturday alone they did about 500 deliveries and 500 walk-ins, they say they could’ve done more and it’s just another big reason they need extra hands and wheels.

“We’re taking everybody,” owner Shelly Hagan said.

Mother’s Day is always a busy time for the Jacksonville Flower Market. Hagan says they normally hire at least 30 extra drivers and 15 in-house staff workers. This year, they barely got half of that.

“It’s been hard on my regular staff because they’re putting in the extra hours, and they have to pull the weight for all the help we needed to really get,” she said.

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She says staff is pulling an 80-hour workweek and they’ve had to stop taking online orders, which hurts business.

“I would’ve been glad to take on more orders and make more deliveries to moms, but unfortunately I had to turn business away,” she said.

This comes at a time where the new jobs report shows U.S. employers added just 266,000 jobs in April, which is down from 770,000 new jobs in March. Hagan believes unemployment benefits being too appealing play a role in the lack of help.

“It’s a struggle to find good help,” she said.

Hagan tells Action News Jax she’s thankful they’re still able to make mothers smile for the holiday but there’s no denying many businesses need some help.