Jun. 30—More New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets are closing earlier because they don't have enough workers.

Several of the state stores are now closing at 6 p.m. on weekdays — including Elm Street in Manchester, Lebanon and New London.

The announcement comes as customers are stocking up for the Fourth of July weekend. Other outlets continue to operate under reduced hours from earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, but about 60% of the stores remain open to either 7 or 8 p.m., according to the New Hampshire Liquor Commission.

The liquor commission says the hours have been temporarily adjusted at select locations as they look to hire 150 part-time and 30 full-time workers, according to E.J. Powers, a commission spokesman.

"Like many retailers across the country, and even other state agencies right here in New Hampshire, NHLC is experiencing staffing challenges," he said. "We have modified hours to cater to the times when the largest concentration of shopping takes place while keeping all New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets open."

The adjusted hours are intended to make sure the busiest stores are staffed, Powers said. The goal of the reduced hours is to keep all stores open. Even then, store No. 63 in Winchester has been temporarily closed, according to the outlet's website.

Last year, the commission generated $801 million in sales — the most successful sales year in the more than 87-year history, according to its annual report. Sales are still strong but have leveled off while still meeting expectations, Powers said.

After shopping at Hooksett Welcome Center on Interstate 93 north, Janet Brack of Manchester said the outlets should have reduced hours in the mornings to give people more time in the evening.

"They've already closed some stores, so it is an inconvenience now to go to other places," she said. "They did that when COVID first came."

Brack, who is retired, said she isn't affected by the changes.

"I think it is amazing the fact that there are so many people not working," she said. A lot of people would rather have jobs with the ability to work from home, she said.

Now hiring

The commission is recruiting workers and working to offer new incentives. "Now hiring" signs hang outside the stores. A sign at the welcome center says the store there is paying $12.68 per hour for a "retail store clerk 1" and $12.31 per hour for laborers.

"The goal is to get back to those hours" by filling the jobs, Powers said.

New Hampshire has capped part-time workers at 28 hours based on standards of the Affordable Care Act, according to the commission. Full-time workers are being offered overtime. The ACA requires employers to offer health insurance to employees working at least 30 hours per week, or 130 hours per month.

Gov. Chris Sununu asked the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee for a referral incentive of $1,000 for full-time employees and $500 for part-time positions to be shared by the new employee and the employee who recruited them. It applies to workers hired before June 30, 2023 who work for at least three months.

The state also is struggling to fill openings for seasonal jobs at state parks and beaches, including lifeguards.

Kevin Daigle, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Grocers Association, said the past year and a half has been especially difficult to find workers. Larger stores are able to shift workers around to different locations or departments.

"The smaller stores are having trouble," he said. "If they have one or two folks scheduled to be on, and if one can't make it (the owners) have to come in themselves or have to reduce hours."

He hopes staffing shortages like this are a short-term problem.

The reduced hours might be needed to help encourage a work-life balance so a particular store doesn't lose more workers, Daigle said.

He recently ran into a handwritten sign saying a store closed early.

"There is some frustration," he said, "but I'd like to think that the consumer is educated enough with everything that is going on between workforce, labor and staffing issues and supply chain issues that they don't take it out on any particular operator."

Expenses, such as electricity, remain the same even if the stores are closed, he said.

Since 2012, the state has renovated, relocated or constructed new Liquor & Wine Outlets in more than 30 communities, including a new 10,500-square-foot outlet in Rindge last month. A 13,000-square-foot Manchester store on Gold Street and a 12,000-square-foot store in Concord at Exit 17 are under construction.

Bruce Middleton of Pembroke said he has noticed the number of workers at each store dwindle over the past few years.

"I know a few workers retired recently from this store," he said outside the store at 1271 Hooksett Road in Hooksett. "I don't know why people don't want to work."

Brack says she's noticed "now hiring" signs everywhere, not just at the outlets.

"I wonder if people just have to get used to it as well," she said. "Sometimes it was a convenience being able to stop by at 8 o'clock, and now I have to get there earlier."

jphelps@unionleader.com