GILLETTE - The signs don't just read "help wanted" any more. As the shortage of workers continues to plague Campbell County and much of the state, employers are having to become more creative at recruiting workers.

In Wyoming, the unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent in September, compared to 6.1 percent in the U.S. overall.

Campbell County had the second lowest unemployment rate in the state at 1.7 percent.

At the same time, job growth continued at a healthy pace of 2.9 percent. In September, Wyoming added 8,700 jobs when compared to a year earlier.

Looking for a unique way to attract potential employees to their rapidly expanding business, Bear's Naturally Clean Dry Cleaners Owner Sage Bear says she and her husband John placed a sign that simply read: "Work while your kids are in school."

The sign attracted a lot of attention, enabling Bear to hire new employees. "We made an employment time just for working moms and that really brought in a lot of people," she said.

The company has been open in Gillette for about a year now, and Bear has consistently had difficulty recruiting and retaining good workers. Because there are so many jobs available in the county, it has been a struggle to keep quality employees, as well as attract new employees.

"The jobs are a dime a dozen," Bear said.

As a former car wash business owner in Denver, the Bears have had to make a few adjustments in the way they operate their business just to attract employees. It has been a much more difficult struggle than anything they ever experienced in the car wash business.

They had to offer a higher starting wage, as well as offer some flexibility in hours, Bear said.

"One thing that we do is that we're pretty flexible," she said. "If they need to take a long lunch or leave early, they can as long as the work is done."

So far the sign has paid off for Bear; she has filled the three open positions available. Despite work force issues, Bear said the business move from Denver to Gillette has been a good one for the couple.

"We've been very pleased," Bear said. "We just hired a couple of people and they seem to be good so far, so we're excited. The population was growing and it was a good opportunity."

Population growth has contributed to many other job openings across the county. Campbell County Workforce Development currently has almost 250 job openings in the county listed. And according to Gillette Workforce Center supervisor Vermona Petersen, that number does not include help wanted signs or postings in newspapers.

Even though the number is high, it is down from last year's numbers that wavered between 300 and 400 job openings.

"We're actually down the number of job orders, but we have more openings per order," Petersen said, meaning that employers are looking to fill multiple job openings rather than companies trying to fill just one open position.

Petersen attributes some of the lower job openings to recruitment efforts by Gillette Workforce Center and the Campbell County Economic Development Corporation. From local job fairs to national advertising campaigns, the two organizations have successfully drawn more people to the booming city.

"Some of the recruitment efforts have been successful," Petersen said. "Economic Development has been doing some huge recruitments in different states."

Other factors that play into the lower numbers include the time of year and the migration of coal-bed methane jobs to other areas of the state.

"A lot of the methane is moving west toward Buffalo and Sheridan. These are just slower months," Petersen said.

While recruitment efforts have made an impact in filling open positions, there are still obstacles to overcome, including the lack of affordable housing and a national shortage of skilled workers.

"Affordable housing is still an obstacle," Petersen said. "As a community we still need to look at housing."

But as more apartments are coming available, Petersen believes the problem will begin to subside. Some employers are trying work on the housing issue by helping new employees locate housing, and in some cases, provide additional money for housing.

Employers are also continuing to battle the shortage of skilled laborers.

"Locally, we have a work force development committee working to address how we're going to come up with some of these skilled workers," Petersen said. "Nationwide there just aren't enough skilled workers. It's a national shortage, not just a local one."

Because many people are approaching retirement age, there will be more demand to fill positions, she said.

"I still look for it to be a great place to come to find a job if you have a skill or trade," Petersen said. "We still have a high need for all of the skilled trades."

Included among the most sought after professionals are engineers, mechanics, welders and nurses. Even restaurants and smaller businesses have recently started using Gillette Workforce Center to help recruit workers.

"They're struggling along with everyone else," Petersen said.

Petersen sees employers trying to be more imaginative in their recruitment efforts by offering sign-on bonuses and other incentives. They also seem to focus more on the retention of current employees.

"I think some of them are trying to be more creative by offering employee incentives," Petersen said. "They're recruiting people who want a lifestyle like we have to offer here."

L&H Industrial has worked diligently to attract and retain employees with some of those incentives, including sign-on bonuses and competitive salaries.

"We've been working to make this the best place to work," said Mike Wandler, L&H Industrial president. "We've worked on our wage and benefit package."

With just 20 current job openings, the company has worked hard at recruitment over the last few years and now does not struggle as much to find new employees. The current openings are for welders, machinists and mechanics, which are among the most difficult skilled trades to recruit.

"We offer a sign-on bonus for up to $2,000, depending on experience, and we're just putting together a commission package," Wandler said.

The company also offers moving expenses and assistance in locating housing. Wandler said the company owns 14 apartments that are used by employees while they transition to the community. The rent is generally $800-$900 a month for the employees. In recent months, the company has seen some of the housing difficulties ease as new apartment buildings have come available in the community.

"As far as housing, we've had some relief in those areas," Wandler said. "We haven't seen prices going down yet, but that's more than likely coming."

The biggest key to recruitment, as Wandler sees it, is the finding the right people for the job and then treating them well. The company recruits at several trade schools, which has been an asset to L&H Industrial and has worked out well, according to Wandler.

"Typically, the ones you grow yourself are the ones that stick," he said. "We have found we need to be flexible to get the right people."

Recruiting the right people to the community means adding more amenities that citizens can enjoy, according to Campbell County Economic Development Corporation Interim Director Susan Jerke. The organization is current looking to draw more restaurants and stores to the community to add to the quality of life.

"It would be nice to have more retail," Jerke said. To that end, members of CCEDC attended the International Council of Shopping Centers in Las Vegas, and talks are still under way to potentially add some mid-level department stores and restaurants to the community. Part of those discussions include promoting Gillette's current economy and the increasing demand for a variety of stores and restaurants.

"It's one of the bright spots in the economy right now," Jerke said.