[jamesrat]

This could have been written from the perspective of the potential employees.

“Ice cream shop can’t afford employees due to rising costs”

Business are happy to pay the very minimum possible for wages to maximize their profits. When everything goes up and minimum wage stays the same you need more to survive.

If you looked around at what this guy is paying vs the neighbors, you're now competitive with your salary.

Supply and demand. The demand for retail works is high but the supply at that minimum rate they wanna pay is non existent.