Lack of Labor Sparks Hiring Blitz at Sandy’s Donuts

North Dakota touts the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation, but it isn't helping some small businesses...

FARGO, ND – Mary Rohrich has been working at Sandy’s Donuts for 21 years. She’s never seen the store this busy, and the kitchen this empty.

“We need help. There is a lot of orders coming in and you know people come in to buy. We have days that we run out of things because it’s so busy, and then we have more orders again. It’s an everyday experience. We really need the help!” said Rohrich, an assistant baker at Sandy’s.

The production crew Mary works with is responsible for turning out over 10,000 donuts a day during the week, and nearly 18,000 during the weekends. They need 20 new employees to meet that demand.

Sandy’s Donuts isn’t the only company struggling to find employees in Fargo, and the lingering question on everybody’s mind; Are there too many jobs, and not enough workers?
According to a recent survey by state officials, there are roughly 3 job openings for every one unemployed person.
The most job openings are in Cass County, with stores like Sandy’s having the highest demand for new labor.

“I see that all the time where there is just not enough staff to open a store or something and they aren’t open. We haven’t gotten to that point but our staff is stressed.” said Mark Ostlund, Owner of Sandy’s Donuts.

Brenna Lukes has been looking for a job for nearly a month since she moved to Fargo from Brookings, South Dakota. She took her best shot at the Hiring Blitz that Sandy’s Donuts hosted today.

“It’s kind of challenging, I mean there is a lot of businesses around and employers that you fill out an application and try and contact them to see if they looked at it and it just gets lost with other applicants. So, when I saw a chance to do an open interview right away and possibly get hired on the spot like that I took an opportunity to just go out there right away and get the job.” said Lukes.

Sandy’s hired her immediately after the interview was over, and she’s eager to get to work.

“The part I’m looking forward to is being able to frost the donuts and kind of make really cool and creative ones that people haven’t seen before and just kind of throw some different frosting designs out there.” said Brenna Lukes.

While Sandy’s is hoping this hiring blitz fulfills all of its staffing needs, it remains to be seen if the state will be able to overcome a labor shortage in 44 of North Dakota’s 53 counties.