Worker Shortage Hitting Local Businesses

It s not an uncommon sight these days Driving down Broadway in Minot more and more businesses seem to be decorating their windows with Help Wanted signs and despite a promising economy in the state some areas of the job market are struggling to find workers As the oil industry attracts more laborers to the field many businesses are left wondering What lies ahead Dan Erdmann has more Dan Erdmann KX News More than usual the word boom seems to be making its way into conversations And it s true oil and much of North Dakota s economy is booming But it s also true that too much of a good thing can create problems Kathy Hebert Owner- Papa Murphy s Pizza Right now we re in a severe crunch Normally during the winter time during the school year we run 22-23 employees and right now we have 13 Dan Erdmann KX News Hebert says many owners are in the same boat they are Ward County alone has close to 2 000 jobs available right now and Job Service North Dakota reports about the same number of resumes have been submitted to them The problem is that most aren t matching up with positions available D J McIntyre Office Manager - Job Service ND We are trying to attract businesses attract workers we re trying to expand what we currently have which means that we want to prepare the workforce that we already have to better fill those positions Dan Erdmann KX News McIntyre says more and more businesses are turning to them for help especially incoming operations Restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings are in need of over 135 employees and they ve been using several methods of recruitment Managers say the toughest part is knowing what workers want Jeff Bailey General Manager - Buffalo Wild Wings I think it s the work environment and I think that it s how you re treated when you re at work I think that s the common theme when the employees are coming in to interview with us Dan Erdmann KX News Even though the shortage of workers could affect businesses for awhile many owners know things can change in a hurry Kathy Hebert Owner- Papa Murphy s Pizza I m used to this sort of thing and it s kind of a cyclical thing This too shall pass I guess but right it s real tough for everybody Dan Erdmann KX News But it is tough to say that having a surplus of jobs is all bad After all usually there s a bright side to everything D J McIntyre Office Manager - Job Service ND We do have a good infrastructure We do have good schools we do have a good community and a nice place to live Dan Erdmann KX News Dan Erdmann KX News If you re looking for a list of jobs available in the area you can visit find-jobs-ND com or jobs-ND com Job Service North Dakota will also be holding a job fair on October 21st focusing on health care positions call centers and several other businesses