Posted on 06/25/2012 1:03:38 PM PDT by Titus-Maximus
The Quick Take: Rapid oil and gas development in the “oil patch” of western North Dakota and northeastern Montana has created huge demand for workers—not just in the oilfields, but also in a range of non-oil industries. But so far, the supply of labor—from within and outside the region—has responded slowly to demand. In recent years, job openings have soared and unemployment has dropped to very low levels—below 3 percent in a number of counties.
The Bakken oil play is drawing job seekers from other Ninth District states and the rest of the country, but they’re not coming in sufficient numbers to keep up with continued job growth. There are several obstacles to the flow of labor into the oil patch, among them low unemployment in eastern North Dakota, the area’s frigid winters and—most important—a scarcity of housing.
The region faces an awkward period of adjustment, but labor conditions are likely to loosen within a few years as rising wages and improved living conditions for migrants increase the workforce.
Rick Tofte doesn’t try to hire workers for his Williston, N.D., construction business anymore. They’re difficult to find, and even harder to keep—starting wages at oilfield service firms in the area far exceed what he can pay for the services of carpenters, roofers and electricians. The 30-year-old firm has a full slate of building projects, including upscale housing and facilities for expanding oilfield companies. Yet Tofte Brothers Construction employs only six people; as the oil boom has taken hold in the region, Tofte and his brother Terry have increasingly relied on subcontractors to do most of their work
“We have changed our structure in how we [operate],” Rick Tofte said. “We used to do it all ourselves; now we sub[contract] out 75 percent of it, just because we can’t find the employees.”
I wintered with a 5th Wheel toy hauler in Montana. I had to skirt it with 2” foam board and apply heat tape to the water source. It's not hard if you research and take precautions.
By the way, that region gets some serious cold snaps, but the Chinook winds blow through and warm things up periodically. A Canadian once told me that Vancouver has citrus groves. There's a reason they had to provide snow for the Olympic Games and it wasn't “Global Warming.”
They have these new fangled things in their houses called furnaces. And the cars there have a red area on the inside temperature control that does the opposite of the blue; for when it gets cold.
People cannot pass a pea test and when they do they work for a paycheck or two then disappear
If they can’t pass a pea test they’ll never pass the carrot test.
Might just fire up the old Itasca( dry) and head there.
Did that 5th Wheel have a "basement" as many do? With the piping past the water inlet enclosed. Many today even have heating in that basement.
A southern style FEMA trailer will most the plumbing and tanks exposed underneath is a different problem in a North Dakota winter.
A southern style FEMA trailer will most the plumbing and tanks exposed underneath is a different problem in a North Dakota winter.
My water hose ran up through a hole into an external port. When you opened the storage “basement” you also opened the water controls “panel.” I ran my hose under the unit but off the concrete pad. I boxed in and insulated the water source. I also took foam board remnants and boxed in the sewerage hose. I ran a small heater undeath the unit.
I also put insulation strips in the crevices of both slide outs.
It wasn’t difficult, but I wouldn’t want to winter in an RV with small children.
Different animals. A couple of guys could set up a gold mining operation in Nome with a modest investment in mining equipment, a couple of pack mules and a tent to provide shelter long enough to build a hut or sod shanty.
North Dakota's oil fields require that you get a job with a company which owns the drilling rights or one servicing them. Try to park a camper or set up a tent in an unapproved location and see how long it takes local law enforcement to come knocking at your door.
There are a ton of You Tube videos out there telling people how to land a job in North Dakota. Bottom line is that if you have needed skills (CDL license, welder, etc.) it won't take long. But if it is just general, you'd better plan on spending a month without income looking to find the right spot.
For 99.9% of the unemployed, it is just so much easier to stay put and wait for the next check from Uncle Sam.
I'm told it's not safe for single women.
This is what Romney should be talking about day and night. Opening up job opportunities by removing the barriers to entry across all markets.
Unless you’re renting your owned home is a ball and chain.
He should be talking about Keystone Pipeline - everyday.
Yep.
Hello, I have heard of these FEMA trailers for sale but have not been able to find any being sold near where I live. May I ask, where & whom did you deal with to purchase yours?
Respectfully,
Cj
I bought mine through a used trailer dealer in Houston, Texas.
Then there are many of us, whom worked hard all of our lives only to be sidelined by work injury.
I am one of them. I NEVER wanted to be on assistance. However, getting injured put me there.
Add insult to the injury, the Company is “Private, or Self” insured and as such, falls through the cracks in WCB or IC Rules.
A hearing officer told me, that if they had been regular WBC, my injuries would have been repaired within the first year, not dragging out for the 8 years it has been.
However, since I have an excellent Atty and we have repeatedly met the burden of proof, my repair surgeries & PT are within the next six months, as the company has been ordered to comply with treatment.
Once, that is done, I will be looking into coming out there. Getting security clearances or passing background/drug checks are not a problem.
I am a Technician in electronics/computers, and since there are no jobs where I live nor apparently in my field out there, then going back to manual labor or driving tow motor equipment, would be welcome compared to being on assistance. When I get off this site, I am looking into our local Career School to check out a few additional trade skill courses, that seem like they would be a good fit for out there. Once healed, I go where the work is.
Trust me, that pitiful amount well under $1K/month, does not pay bills after paying rent & necessities. Why anyone would rather have that than work is beyond me. WAY beyond me and I have been handicapped since I was a baby. I was brought up to stand on my own two feet.
The thing that concerns me, is given some of the overtones here, how safe is it for female workers? I can live in a camper, have been for years, so that is no problem and I have four footed protection @ home. However, I do not wish to be fighting off others on the job nor as I travel to or from the job.
That is also my concern.
Do you realize the conversations on this thread are over a year old?
Yes, I do. I know much can change in a year.
I also know that the need for good workers does not go away, unless, like me, one lives in an area where the work has gone all the way across the board, quite often b/c many jobs have left the country.
This has been the case where I live. I have had personal experience with a company, leaving the country. Many of us were not invited along. Those of us whom were, were offered very good incentives on one hand, on the other, dangerous areas of the world, make those incentives worthless.
Then there are to ones that would have gladly followed the companies, but were told they had to train their replacements both on domestic shores, as well as overseas, otherwise they would not receive their benefits package when they were laid off.
Even part-time jobs are not here. I was told by Tech Agencies that they are not getting requests for Technicians since there is a surplus of Engineers laid off. Companies can fill both positions with a laid off Engineer at a Technician rate of pay.
So, I will continue to do my homework on the feasibility or opportunities of this and/or other options. However, once I am healed and given the green light, medically, one unavoidable fact remains: I will have to go where ever the work is.
My Husband and Parents are dead. I have no Children to help me when I get older, than I already am. My Siblings that have not passed through that final veil, we all have to travel, have their own Families and problems. I will not be adding to them. So it is just me, to take care of me.
I will be getting a newer camper & replacing my truck, packing my FurBabies, putting anything else into storage and then following the work, living in campgrounds.
There are many from here having had to do, likewise.
One poster above mentioned, we, as a nation, have lost our ambition. Some of us never lost it. We have always had it. Just with more obstacles to overcome, to be able to achieve what many have felt is their right to just either have or have taken for granted.
Will they send me a bus ticket?
lol
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