The economy is starting to roar back after a few down years, and some areas of the country are experiencing remarkable growth as a result. In particular, North Dakota is actually experiencing an employee shortage, according to Fox News KVRR Fargo. Citing the North Dakota Job Service, the news source said that there are as many as 26,000 job openings in the entire state, with 7,000 of those specifically in Fargo.
What's notable is that many of the openings are in the services industry, and even traditionally low paying positions are offering high starting wages to draw employees. The region's unemployment rate is just 4.2 percent, compared to a national rate of 6.3 percent, indicative of the potential hiring challenges that the area is experiencing.
"North Dakota and anywhere where they've started to develop the oil fields is essentially a gold rush," MADI CEO Joel Zimmerman said in a recent interview. "The opportunities are exciting and, for some people, extremely prosperous."
Of course, the situation has its drawbacks, Zimmerman added. Notably, it's difficult for some workers to find accommodations due to the influx of people searching for new opportunities, and those moving to the area often deal with somewhat adverse temporary living conditions.
Issues in Industrial Staffing
Zimmerman added that in some ways, the rush of workers is actually making staffing, especially for skilled positions, more difficult for businesses in the surrounding regions to fill. However, this issue can be temporarily alleviated using business continuity staffing services that have the capabilities to immediately deploy personnel from outside regions who are already vetted and ready to work.
Some of MADI's latest projects involved sending skilled welders to South Dakota, where the client was facing the need to fulfill some large orders under a tight deadline. This is because, as Zimmerman described the situation, companies in North Dakota taking advantage of the fracking boom offer workers as many hours as they want. When comparing a 40-hour-per-week job at a normal salary versus 100-hours-per-week position with higher pay, many workers throughout the region, even as far away as Texas, are eager to relocate to North Dakota for these new opportunities, creating a regional talent vacuum.
Opportunities Abound
In this situation, where North Dakota gains, its neighbors in the surrounding region lose, and MADI is right in the middle of helping to close this employment gap. MADI can do this due to its business continuity staffing model with its national recruiting capabilities and proprietary personnel deployment technology, enabling MADI mobilize even hundreds of employees within a matter of a few days.
If a company is in need of welders or machinists for instance, MADI can fill those needs quickly, help keep revenues and production goals on track, and give companies the time needed to fill these positions permanently.
In the future, the "gold rush" of North Dakota will repeat itself in additional states. As energy related opportunities arise, more job opportunities will be created which again might lead to more localized employment surges. If and when that happens, MADI will be ready and able to fill gaps in those or any surrounding areas with its business continuity approach to staffing.
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