A Vermont toymaker says it's struggling to fill orders because of the labor shortage, even after boosting wages 7%, a report says. One job candidate chose to work as a bus driver for more money.

• A Vermont toymaker says it's struggling to fill orders because it's short-staffed, per The Washington Post.
• The founder said it's competing with a cheese factory and a teddy bear factory in the local area.

A toymaker in Vermont says it's scrambling to fill orders because it doesn't have enough staff, despite bumping up wages by 7%, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Maple Landmark, one of Vermont's oldest wooden toymakers, is competing for workers with a cheese factory, a cidery, and a teddy bear factory who are all hiring in the area, the company's founder, Mike Rainville, told The Post.

His business isn't alone. Companies across the US are suffering from a severe shortage of staff as people quit their jobs in search of higher wages, and better benefits and working conditions.

A few months ago, Maple Landmark lost out to a local school bus company over hiring an employee, Rainville said.

"We almost came close to getting her on full-time in the summer, and then the bus company called her up and said, 'We need you in the fall and we're going to pay you anything to have you'," Rainville told the Post.

Maple Landmark, which employs 46 employees, has spent weeks trying to hire up to four workers, Rainville told The Post.

Even though the company has boosted its average wage rate by more than 7% over the last year, Rainville told The Post that he can't afford to offer signing bonuses like other local firms are doing.

"We're just really, really busy and hiring workforce is a challenge," Rainville told The Post, adding that the company is "falling further behind our incoming orders."

Rainville told The Post that some candidates who have been invited for a second interview don't respond to the company.

Other businesses have also said that job applicants keep failing to show for interviews. One cafe in Elk Grove, California, told Insider's Grace Dean that it tends to get "a ton of applicants" for job vacancies, but 90% of people don't turn up for their interviews.