There are more choices, for consumers and job seekers, in the Bismarck-Mandan area these days. New restaurants are popping up, and employers are competing for customers and employees in an already tight labor market.
With the rigid labor market, many people are working longer hours in Fargo, according to a recent Fargo Forum poll. Among 586 people interviewed, about 31 percent said they spend more time at work than they did four years ago. Forty-two percent said they spent the same amount of time, and 16 percent said they spent less time.
Fargo-Moorhead area employers anticipate fewer new hires than they did last year. Just 10 percent of companies surveyed by Manpower Inc. plan staff increases for January through March. A similar number expected to reduce staff, while 73 percent expect no changes. One economic development corporation head predicts that this short-term outlook does not change the area's long-term needs: Another 13,000 people will be needed within the next five years to meet the demand.
—Rosie Cataldo
