More options will be available to job seekers over the next 18 months as new retail stores open their doors, expanding the job market.

With at least six new retail businesses, a hotel and more business prospects in the works, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 new employees will be needed part time and full time. And two weeks ago a $30 million retail development next to the new north Wal-Mart store was announced. More job opportunities could make it expensive for businesses to retain employees.

The unemployment rate last December, the latest figures available, for North Dakota was 3.2 percent, and 3.1 percent in the Bismarck metropolitan area. Both the state and city unemployment rates are below the 10-year average. According to Job Service North Dakota, the calculated labor force in December 2004 for the Bismarck area was 57,095. This means only 1,781 people are readily available to enter the job market.

"Companies do their research before they decide to move into a new area," said Gregory Wald, communications and marketing manager at Job Service North Dakota. "Businesses are realizing that Bismarck is a good place to do business. Our people are reliable and highly trained. Something triggered them to want to come here."

Wal-Mart, which will open two Wal-Mart Supercenters and a Sam's Club in the first half of 2006, will employ between 700 and 800 new workers. Employees at the old Wal-Mart will be able to transfer their positions to the new stores.

Ryan Horn, regional community affairs manager for Wal-Mart, said 74 percent of the jobs at Wal-Mart are full time, not including managerial positions. The standard hourly wage is $9.68, however, the amount fluctuates due to the cost of living, location and the condition of the store.

"Wal-Mart takes a holistic look at communities to analyze if the customers in that area and surrounding area are being served," Horn said. "We provide people with the opportunities to make a career out of retail. This is a great opportunity for local employees to expand into management positions."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly salary for a retail salesperson in the Bismarck area is $20,063. Depending upon work experience in the retail sector, salaries can range from $13,000 with no experience to more than $23,000 with experience. An employee at Wal-Mart earning $9.68 an hour will make $20,134.40 a year. Other retail stores coming to the area, Home Depot, Lowe's and Kohl's, refused to release their starting hourly wage.

In the latest labor and business survey released by Job Service in 2003, 32 percent of potential workers, either unemployed or employed, could be encouraged to work for a different or new employer.

"All communities need a balance of high- and low-paying jobs," Wald said. "People are going to switch jobs because of work conditions or the need for flexible hours and benefits. Pay is not always the top priority for a person to change their job."

Bill Good, manager of Mac's Inc. on South 26th Street, said pay does matter to employees.

"I really don't foresee losing any of my people because I pay them better than what the new businesses' starting wages are and I provide benefits," Good said. "As to what is going to happen for sure, I don't know, but I don't think it will have a wide scale effect."

Mac's primary customers are construction businesses and farmers. Good said that he usually sees an initial effect because people are curious as to what the new businesses can offer. However, there are Mac's in other markets that already have five so-called big box stores and still do well competing in that market.

"Usually when these stores open close by, nothing but good things happen for our business," Good said.

Russ Staiger, president of the Bismarck Mandan Development Association, said the Northern Plains Commerce Centre will probably only have a management staff of 10 to 15 people. However, it is almost impossible to say how many other tenants will be employed there. The Northern Plains Commerce Centre is an industrial, distribution and technology park with immediate access to road, rail and air transport to be located in south Bismarck.

"Of course we want to create good quality, permanent, full-time positions with good benefits," Staiger said. "Our primary sector is to add value to the services to our client base, this will result in a need for employees with a higher skill level and will result in a higher wage base. I hope a majority of the people that are hired are locals, but part of our mission is to bring young people that are qualified back into the state."

According to the 2003 survey from Job Service, 2.9 percent of potential job seekers current or most recent occupation is in transportation and moving material. Sales occupations is 11.5 percent and food preperations and serving is 7.2 percent.

Denise Macdonald, general manager of A&W Long John Silvers on North Highway 83, said that fast food chains always have a high turnover rate of 125 percent to 138 percent per year. Her store is no exception with a turnover rate a little below 125 percent per year, but she doesn't think the new businesses will have an impact.

"Its always hard to get somebody, but once we have them we are more likely to keep them as employees," said Macdonald, who's been in the fast-food business for more than 30 years. "That is the nature of the beast.

"I don't think that we will have a problem finding employees even with all of the big retail stores coming in," Macdonald said. "Here at A&W we are able to be more flexible and work around young people's schedules so that they can still have a life outside of work. If you respect them and they respect you, you won't have a problem."

Macdonald said that Home Depot will actually bring them more business because there will be access to her restaurant from Home Depot's parking lot. Both the shoppers and easier access to the restaurant should increase business.

However, Mark Webber, part owner of three local Dairy Queens, isn't looking forward to the new retail businesses. Webber runs the Dairy Queens with his family. Depending on the weather and location, some stores are closed three to five months during the year.

"Business is going to get worse," Webber said. "We will probably have to pay our employees more to compete with the new businesses."

Webber thinks that finding a job is fairly easy. However, bigger stores have a higher turnover rate because they hire people that want to make more money, but don't have the skills for the job so they end up quitting.

The 2003 survey released by Job Service said that even though unemployment is 3 percent, the potential labor pool is 32 percent of the adult population. This indicates that those businesses willing to compete for employees would find a large supply of talented, willing workers.

"Business will be competing for workers," Wald said. "These businesses will just have to look at different ways to keep their current employees and gain new employees."

(Reach reporter Kayla Cogdill at 250-8251 or kaylacogdill@bismarcktribune.net.)