For my area, it's because the J1 visa students are largely gone. There were hundreds of them here in 2019, and many worked 2-3 jobs. Because of covid, businesses can't pack 20 of them into a house anymore. They are required to have individual private bedrooms, which is impossible for most employers.
Last year was the first time in 18 years that I had to hire local people and it was ungodly stressful and ended in disaster. No good options. High schoolers can't start work until June 20-25ish. College students start leaving August 10-15ish. Adults have basically no interest in a job for only 16 weeks.