Small businesses are desperate for employee -- and my desperate quest for a cheap hamburger !

On Wednesday I decided that I wanted a Burger King Bacon Cheeseburger ($1) for lunch, along with a value sized Burger King french fries ($1). 

In the old days, when I was a youth (1960's), this was considered to be an adult lunch. Now it's considered to be a child's meal. So I guess I'm a 67 year old child.

I live in a small village about seven miles northwest of Detroit, and there are four Burger Kings within four miles of  home.

At the first BK, usually the busiest one, although with the best service ... the place was closed at 11am. No employees. A sign said they opened at 10:30am, meaning they were no longer serving breakfast, and closed right after dinner time. No more 24 hour a day service. No service at all.

A second Burger King was also closed, with no employees at 11:15am. A new sign said they opened at 12 noon, but I wasn't going to wait and see.  Because there had been a few days this month when they never opened at all.  Obviously no longer serving breakfast.

A third Burger King had a huge line and I decided not to wait.

I never checked the fourth Burger King, because there was a McDonalds next store

to the third BK.

Their $3 McDouble burger and small fries "bundle" has a fair price, and you get two tiny hamburgers, but the french fries are not the same above average quality as those from Burger King.

This is not a cheap hamburger review. It is a view of small businesses closed at hours they had always been open, due to a lack of employees. There are employee wanted signs all over these restaurants.  Worker shortages are something that has never happened before in the 41 years I've been living in Michigan.

I believe the following chart of job openings versus continuing claims for federal pandemic unemployment insurance, may explain why: