Virden labour shortage blamed on oil boom

Businesses in the southwestern Manitoba town of Virden are experiencing a labour shortage, with some blaming it on the area's booming oil industry.

Dozens of businesses in Virden are looking for workers, including the local Fountain Tire shop, which currently has three job openings.

"Basically, good general labour is what I am looking for," Fountain Tire store owner Henry Hildebrandt told CBC News.

But Hildebrandt said the young people who have come through his doors eventually find better paying work in the oil fields around Virden.

"The oil field average starting [salary] is in the six figures, so it is difficult to compete with something like that," he said.

Companies have flocked to the southwestern corner of Manitoba in recent years to drill in the region's oil fields.

Debbi Kish of the Virden Employment and Skills Centre said right now, there are 10 jobs available for every person in both the oil sector and in the general labour market.

But Kish said there is one problem: "There's a shortage of housing for the skilled labourers to live in," she said.

Town officials acknowledged that Virden is experiencing a housing crisis and they are trying to woo more developers to the region.