Sheriff’s Office not immune to shortage of employees

The well-documented troubles businesses are having filling job vacancies extends to filling openings at law enforcement agencies, including the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office.

“When I was hired (as a jail deputy) in the early ‘90s, there were between 200 to 300 applicants,” Sheriff Jim Johnson said. “Now we typically get fewer than 30.”

The biggest factor is the economy, with unemployment being at record or near-record lows for some time, he said. When the economy is booming, fewer people seek employment in public service professions.