Associated Press

Reza Kamranian says he was so desperate to find restaurant workers that he included a note at the bottom of customers' receipts saying "now hiring."

Kamranian, who has two A&W restaurants in Bismarck, said he was forced to close one of them a couple of weeks ago for lack of workers, after some called in sick.

"When you're already at bare minimum and two or three people don't show up, it's really difficult," he said. Advertisements brought few responses, he said. Some wanted to work only Monday through Friday.

Kamranian said he would reopen his north Bismarck restaurant after he found more staff. He said the average employee makes about $7.50 per hour, and business has been good. He had 26 workers last week, and needed 50.

"We haven't had anybody not take the job because of the wages," he said. "The problem is, we don't get enough people.

"It doesn't matter how good the business is. If you don't have the staff to handle it, it's going to go down pretty fast."

The president of the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce, Kelvin Hullet, said service-industry businesses in particular have struggled to find workers as the area's retail sector grows. Some have been looking to hire immigrants, he said.

"We've actually talked with the ag community in North Dakota - they've already had some experience in recruiting workers from other countries, in particular South Africa and Mexico," Hullet said.