Hints of US oil industry comeback in North Dakota

Williston, North Dakota

IN the chilly air before dawn, a handful of men and women huddle in front of a small, one-storey building on the outskirts of Williston.

They are waiting for Command Center, a temporary work agency, to open.

Workers in this oil town in the US state of North Dakota, just an hour from the Canada border, once had their pick of jobs; many are now looking for any work they can find.

"They don't have very many jobs for us right now," said Heather Scallion, who travelled some 2,100 km from Arkansas, thinking there was still low-skilled work here.

"Hurting for money, honestly," she explained.

Nearby, a ragged man in his 30s slept on a couch. Ms Scallion was fairly certa…