The natural resource boom of the past several years created such a demand for workers in Gillette, Wyo., that the local economic development agency went looking for hands two time zones away.

Holding job fairs in Michigan, where the struggling auto industry was laying off workers with the same skills needed in Wyoming's energy fields, was just one trick tried by Ruth Benson, director of the Campbell County Economic Development Corp., in the state's northeast corner.

"Without a skilled work force, it's impossible to recruit new businesses and industries, and we were at risk of losing our existing businesses and industries," she told a crowd of some 70 economic development professionals from 10 states and provinces at the Pacific Northwest Economic Development Council's annual conference, which runs through Wednesday at the Best Western in Helena. "I no longer believe that just creating jobs for your community is what's needed from economic development professionals."

As her mission shifted from job creation to work force development, Benson first interviewed more than 100 employers in Campbell County to determine what skills were in highest demand and what new recruits could expect to earn.

The agency partnered with other Wyoming regions and some private firms in holding three job fairs in Michigan in 2006.

Upon returning to Gillette, Benson organized all the resumes she'd collected into binders and encouraged local firms to stop in and look for candidates who had the skills they sought.

Those missions were successful: some 3,500 people attended, and state driver's license records showed 600 relocations from Michigan to Wyoming last year.

Sheldon Bartel, director of Montana Business Assistance Connection, which is hosting this week's conference, said a labor study is planned for the Helena area this fall as a precursor to enhanced worker recruiting efforts. The local unemployment rate is below 3 percent, and finding qualified employees ranks as a top concern for area firms, he said.

"The analysis will determine the skill sets needed and what the wages they pay are, and after that we'll identify areas of the country where we can go out and see what we can do," Bartel said.

St. Peter's Hospital officials have noticed a tightening in the labor market in the past six months.

"St. Peter's has recently found it more challenging to recruit employees for its open positions with low unemployment nationally, regionally and locally," said Tom Gregg, vice president of human resources. He added that it's taking longer for the hospital to fill vacancies than it has in the past.

Benson said beyond the workers found in Michigan, the job fairs generated tremendous publicity for the Gillette area and its economy, with stories in several prominent newspapers and on national television networks.

The job fairs were just one way the region tried to draw workers, she said. Advertisements in the official directory for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and in newspapers in the South following the hurricanes of 2005 met with mixed results, but Benson was undeterred. She said not everything will work, but communities need to stop talking and start taking action.

"None of these were on paper a year ago," she said. "You'd better be ready to roll right away."