WILLISTON, N.D. – People seeking work in North Dakota oil country are finding a different climate from two years ago.
At North Dakota Job Service on Friday, Lori Fowler was perusing the online job posts looking for an administrative or bookkeeping position.
When she first came to Williston from Saskatchewan, Canada, three years ago, her prospects would have been plentiful.
With the influx of women to the Oil Patch, that’s no longer the norm.
“What I’m finding, as opposed to two or three years ago, is the competition is increasing. There’s a lot more females in the area now,” Fowler said.
The 48-year-old has more than 20 years of experience in administration and bookkeeping. She was recently told that an application she had submitted was among an “overwhelming amount of applications” received.
“I never heard that before. That was kind of my wake-up call for work in this area,” Fowler said.
She has the years of experience, however, Fowler feels nervous and wonders if her age will work against her.
Preliminary statistics indicate North Dakota’s November 2014 unemployment rate was 2.4 percent, up from October and slightly higher than the 2.3 percent rate reported one year ago, according to North Dakota Job Service.
The unemployment rate still is the lowest in the nation and the four primary oil-producing counties of Dunn, McKenzie, Mountrail and Williams were below 2.1 percent, among the lowest in the state.
But in November, initial unemployment claims in North Dakota increased by 23.8 percent over a year ago, reports Job Service. Manufacturing reported the largest increase followed by construction and natural resources and mining.
Fran Zerr, customer service consultant for Job Service in Williston, said at the end of the year budgets come into play, with companies assessing their resource needs in January.
In addition, seasonal workers in the construction and road work industries will go home for the winter months and will return in March or April, many of whom will be without income for a few months and thus apply for unemployment. It’s something, she said, that always occurs this time of year.
Judy Billehus, human resources and marketing manager for Williston-based JMAC Resources, said the company recently laid off about 35 drivers in its ready-mix division in Bismarck, noting it’s “very common” and occurred last year as well.
“Our intention is to recall them in the spring. You can’t pour concrete in winter regardless of oil prices,” she said.
Zerr has not seen a dip or spike in job seekers since oil prices began falling in recent weeks.
Instead, the number of people visiting Job Service has “held steady” despite the current oil price of about $40 a barrel for Williston Basin sweet crude.
Alison Ritter, North Dakota Oil and Gas Division public information officer, said Friday the department estimates losing 30 to 40 rigs in the first quarter of 2015. Each rig provides about 120 jobs with a spin-off job loss for that many rigs at between 3,600 and 4,800 jobs.
She said it’s not just the impact to the oil industry, but the possible secondary-growth impact that could result in job losses.
The news of falling oil prices and the potential fallout has not daunted Oscar Lord, 62, of Elberta, Ala., who arrived in Williston on Nov. 27 in search of “opportunity.”
The seasoned carpenter, with more than 30 years in the trade, said he spent the last three years caring for his parents, who recently passed away.
Lord thought he would have a better chance of finding work in North Dakota’s oilfields, as many cities and towns across the U.S. are still experiencing an economic slump.
Arriving before Christmas, Lord said he hoped it would be to his advantage to be on the ground prior to the New Year.
“Once I get to work, the future will be brighter,” he said.
