With thousands of jobs going begging, North Dakota business people and state lawmakers have been mulling proposals to bring more workers into the state, and coax those who are already here to stay.

The Legislature's interim Workforce Committee on Thursday finished a series of discussion groups and sessions with business people, local economic developers and higher education officials to solicit ideas on worker recruitment and retention.

Sen. Tony Grindberg, R-Fargo, the committee's chairman, said the panel will use results from the talks to draft bills for the 2009 Legislature to consider.

One possibility is a state income tax credit, available to North Dakota residents, that would help defray student loan expenses, Grindberg said.

"The thought would be, you receive an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree or a graduate degree, and you remain in the state and are paying taxes, we ought to consider a higher education tax credit to offset some of those costs by staying in the state of North Dakota," Grindberg said. "There's a lot of interest (in the tax credit) out there, with the cost of education, and this one seemed to be very practical in its approach."

Another possibility is a temporary state income tax exemption for workers who move to North Dakota, he said.

Dean Rummel, the president of TMI Systems Design, a Dickinson cabinet manufacturer, said North Dakota's expanding economy is creating more demand for skilled and better-educated workers who are able to absorb new training quickly.

"Many of our jobs are requiring a higher degree of math skills, critical thinking skills, communication skills and the ability to learn quickly," he said.

Western North Dakota's booming oil industry has increased wages locally and sharpened the competition for labor, Rummel said. He said TMI has been expanding, and average employee earnings are about $42,000.

"We certainly hope to see continued growth in our area, and of course we have all the right commodities to make that happen," Rummel said.