Employers' job market in Grand Forks, ND

Soon after Thanksgiving, retailers typically hire additional employees to help with the Christmas rush.

And more people are seeking those seasonal jobs this year, but employers are watching their overhead and being more selective about how many seasonal workers they hire.

“Laid-off employees are competing with those who want to pad income after being hit with furloughs and pay cuts,” said Jennifer Grasz, a spokeswoman for the online job site CareerBuilder.com.

“It’s an employers’ market,” said Keith Reitmeier, area manager for Job Service North Dakota in Grand Forks. “They’re trying to squeeze and see how much more efficiently they can handle their labor costs.”

Reitmeier said Job Service data shows there were 200 fewer jobs in the retail sector of the Grand Forks region through October. There are 795 job openings listed now, down from 1,300 last year. There are 111 openings in sales-related occupations, including retail.

“Compared to other parts of the country, we still have opportunities out there in the Grand Forks area,” Reitmeier said. “Our unemployment rate through October was nine-tenths of a percent and employers have a pretty good pool of applicants to choose from if they want to add staff.”

Reitmeier said there’s less turnover in the state’s job market; full-time employees are reluctant to leave their jobs unless they have another secured. He said some laid-off workers are reluctant to go back for more training, while others patiently wait to be rehired.

Reitmeier said Job Service North Dakota in Grand Forks has 500 more resumes than last year that are either active or on file.

RETAIL HELP

Some retailers, such as Target, have told USA Today they won’t hire as many seasonal workers but would give full-time employees overtime instead.

Mathew Tate, manager at SuperTarget in Grand Forks, said the store completed hiring seasonal workers before Thanksgiving. He said the bigger pool of applicants has been helpful.

“For the whole year, we’ve had a lot better luck with staffing, a lot more people have been looking for daytime hours,” Tate said.

Retailers such as All Seasons Garden Center & Floral already are staffed for the season’s highs and lows. Georgia Heitmann, co-owner, said she has five part-time employees who work more hours at Christmas.

“Our season is so crunched that we’re done in three weeks,” Heitmann said. “Our college kids who work in the spring and summer come back to work in winter.”

Wayne Peterson, manager at Home of Economy in Grand Forks, said the store has hired about the same number of seasonal employees as last year.

“We hire a couple to work on wrapping, one to help with trees and a couple checkers,” Peterson said.

Managers at J.C. Penney Co. and Old Navy in Grand Forks said they’ve hired more seasonal workers than last year.

DELIVERY HELP

The U.S. Postal Service hires seasonal help, but it varies based on location and volume. Kim Melson, officer at large at the Grand Forks post office, said it will not hire any this year.

Delivery companies such as UPS have said they would hire fewer seasonal workers nationally, but that’s not the case in North Dakota. Tim Johnson was hiring workers Tuesday in Bismarck.

“Our volume is equal to if not higher than last year,” Johnson said. “I’ve been working for UPS for 25 years and this could be one of my busiest years, if not the busiest.”

Reitmeier said the impacts of the recession are not as dramatic in North Dakota, and the economy is picking up in the western part of the state.

“If you have a job, this is the state to have it in,” Reitmeier said.

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