I have six ratcatchers, spread at great distances across the active areas of my map. One of them has disappeared, and when I try to put another villager into the job, I get no reaction and a message that says, “This worker slot has been enabled, but is currently unfilled. Make sure you have assigned enough workers for this occupation in the employment window.”
Does that mean the Professions interface? When I go there, I see I have 5 of 5 rather than 6 of 6. There is a plus sign, but it is grayed out, and I cannot increase the number from 5 to 6 to fill the vacant ratcatcher shack slot. Is there another interface that is this mysterious “employment window?” Where did this apparent limit get set? Not by me, that’s for sure. How can I get this very much needed ratcatcher slot filled? I’m not enamored of having just a few ratcatchers running from one end of the very large map to the other just to catch a few rats. I have too many other things to take care of to bother with that.
Again, I say: ratcatchers need either to be totally automated, or to have very large work areas AND CATS! (And my husband also reminded me tonight of the breed of dog called the Rat Terrier, for very good reason.)
maybe check each of your rat catcher huts individually, the main employment menu will only allot workers you have already assigned to the building. for instance you have space for 2 firewood cutters in each firewood cabin so if you had 2 cabins you could have a total of 4 workers but if you only have 1 worker allocated in each building your employment menu will max at 2 workers until you up the allocation in appropriate building. If you have clicked the building to not have a worker or have turned production off then they wont show up as a need on the employment menu.
If I recall, rat catcher buildings only house 1 employee. If you can’t assign one, it is likely because you are short of gold (Au) to pay them. Any time your monthly Au income falls below what you need to pay for things like rat cachers, guards, soldiers, healers, etc. one or more of them may leave the job and the position becomes locked. I don’t believe that person actually returns to the labor pool though. More like, they go on strike so you can’t give their job away. You need to have more funds in the coffers to pay them.
The following month after they quit, you may find you have just enough. This could be that without having to pay them, you finally gained enough, but they won’t return to work until sometime in the next one to two months if your income is steady enough. The expenses and income reflects the previous month, so keep this in mind when you’re evaluating what went wrong and how you plan to fix it.
If you can’t afford the number you are using, you can try consolidating your food storage buildings close to your markets where the rat catchers can service both. One rat catcher in the middle of four markets can reach out to them all. Houses don’t need rat catchers, so move them as needed to make room for your food storage.
Usually, in the building itself (in this example, the rat catcher), next to the unfilled slot is a silhouette with a plus sign in it. Clicking on the plus sign puts a villager in the work slot. However, when I go into this vacant ratcatcher shack, there is no plus sign in the silhouette. And on the extreme right of the interface for the ratcatcher shack, where the -/+ signs are, they are both grayed out. This seems to indicate that the setting forbidding me from filling this vacancy is elsewhere, not in the shack itself. I have never run into this situation before. Maybe I should have posted this in the Bug Reporting area.
I’ve been moving very slowly, building up markets into market squares, leveling up housing, and mining and processing gold. I have plenty of gold to pay the rat catcher. I would not have built the shack if I hadn’t had enough gold for that. So that’s not the problem. I’ve been watching the income and expenses display in the upper right under the gold ingot icon. Balance is well into the green. This is a definite mystery.
Houses do need rat catchers.
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SOLVED!
It seems to have been a glitch. I tore down the vacant rat catcher shack, and built another nearby. The position was filled right away. Weird. Thanks to all for the terrific responses. This is the best forum I’ve ever stuck my nose into.
Button- Work Off
Button- Work On
This button overrides the Work Assignment panel, and will ghost an individual buiding from it’s oversight when Off.
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Well, blow me down! You know, I could have – with my twitchy fingers on my right hand (arthritis) – hit the wrong button at any time. I’ll be more aware of that button in the future, and try to keep my twitchy fingers from hitting the wrong button. Thank you! When you get to my age, hand-eye coordination is not so sharp. 
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