Minot’s Job Market | Video

Amy Fox | 1/8/2013

According to Job Service North Dakota, as of Monday, there are more than 2,000 jobs available in the Minot area. But, once these jobs are filled, how are companies retaining their workers?

"It`s gotten to be a dog eat dog world out there,” said Minot Subway Area Manager Chris Warner. “I guess you could say you got to keep up with the Jones.”

With more people applying for jobs, employers have a larger selection of candidates to choose from. A few years ago, it was a different story.

"It was whoever we could get to work. They didn`t really need any qualifications, they just needed a beating heart," said UCP Personal Services Regional Manager, Tyler Crosland.

Oil companies in western North Dakota are taking the time to choose the right candidate for the job. "There’s more interviewing to make sure the person can handle the work because a lot of times it’s long hours and crazy schedules," said Crosland.

Oil companies aren`t the only ones having trouble finding qualified workers. "It`s really difficult to find those people to hire and keep steady, you know. The hard thing is, I don`t think it is necessarily hiring, as much as it is retaining though," said Warner.

Once businesses, like Subway, hire employees, it`s all about retaining them by offering competitive wages and good training. "We`re trying to show people who we are as a business and what we stand for. And hopefully that will help people want to stay with us. And, now we have incentives available if you work for us, we`ll work for you," said Warner.

In effort to fill job openings in both the oil fields and at restaurants, companies are being forced to offer more pay.

Crosland said, "They`re definitely offering more pay because they are not as desperate as they used to be. There aren’t as many incentives. The pay is higher than everywhere else."

Once the weather warms up, oil workers will begin to more back to the Minot area and companies will begin to hire more employees. Right now in Minot, the most jobs available are for sales, transportation, moving and health care related jobs.

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