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The Bakken Housing Summit will be held May 16 and 17, in Williston, North Dakota. The challenge is to build 5,000 homes in Western North Dakota in the next 24 months. The lack of housing thwarts the ability to hire workers and is threatening the continued growth and development of the Bakken shale play. The energy industry is spending more than $4 billion in 18 months on capital investments including oil exploration, gas plants, pipeline infrastructure, and rail facilities.  In November, 2011, North Dakota had an unemployment rate of 2.9% with 19,627 job openings. The construction of housing has been happening, however. Between 2003 and 2011 there have been 2,866 new housing units built in Williston, a 48 percent increase, which includes 1,440 units in 2011. For more information go to http://www.BakkenHousingSummit. com (The 21st annual statewide housing conference will be held in Bismarck, on Feb. 8 and 9.)