A staffing crisis has left one of Mandurah's most iconic venues stuck in limbo.
The Brighton Hotel, which has been undergoing renovations since June, has found itself unable to reopen due to a lack of interest in jobs.
Despite its latest job listing getting more than 300 shares on Facebook, restaurant manager Brittney Hutchen said they received less than 20 applications.
"Usually we put an ad up and we get 200 applicants but for the last ad we put up we only got 15 so there is a big difference," she said.
"We are still looking for staff of all skills levels for both front of house and back of house as we haven't filled any positions yet.
"It's a pretty big struggle. Making sure we have the staff ready to get started is predominantly what is holding us up from opening."
More than a dozen of the city's local bars, restaurants and hotels are having similar problems.
Peel Alehouse, The Cut Golf Course, Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club, The Local Shack, Cicerello's, Red Manna, The Sebel, San Churros, The Oyster Bar, The Pen, Murphy's Irish Pub, Tod's Cafe, Mandurah Steakhouse and Cobbler's Tavern are among the venues looking for staff.
Murphy's owner Peta Janiec, who is trying to hire a new chef, said she had been struggling to find workers with the right experience.
"I do see there is a lot of unemployment but there are a lot of vacancies in Mandurah at the moment," she said.
"JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments have spiralled down a bit so I thought that would've encouraged more people to look for work but it hasn't.
"We have been struggling to get experienced workers."
According to WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt, 71 per cent of the jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered with the gradual unwinding of restrictions.
"I think the WA economy is coming back on track much faster than any other in Australia which I think is very, very encouraging," he said.
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However, Ms Hutchen said many people were not interested in finding a job, with government subsidies covering their usual wage and others changing career paths.
"I think the lack of staff has a lot to do with COVID-19, partly because of the JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments," she said.
"People get paid quite a fair amount of money from the government so I don't think there are too many people looking for work.
"The mining industry is also only hiring from WA so a lot of people in hospitality took the opportunity to change careers."
