(The Center Square) – North Dakota added 371 jobs from July to August, but the number of open positions is down 19.5% from last year, according to a state’s Labor Market Information Center report.
The state’s available jobs in August were 14,016, while 17,410 jobs were available in August 2022, according to the data.
The health care and practitioners and technical industry had the most open jobs in August, with 2,403, but also had the most significant decrease from last year, with a loss of 1,018 jobs. The second highest number of open jobs is in the transportation and material moving industry, with 1,184, according to LMI.
The most significant year-over-year job increase is in the farming, fishing and forestry industry at 213.
Forty-one of the state’s 53 counties reported a loss in job opening year-over-year, with Cass County, the state’s most populous county, reporting a change of 1,460 jobs. Cass County also had the highest number of job openings at 4,129, according to LMI.
Eleven counties had job increases over the year, with Stutsman County having the most significant jump with 25 jobs.
Most of the jobs available, 37 of them, pay more than $30 an hour, according to the data. Only 4.2% paid between $10 and $14.99 an hour, and no jobs were listed below $10 an hour.
More than 52% of the jobs required a high school diploma or an equivalent, LMI said.
North Dakota’s unemployment rate dropped below 2% in July from 2.3% to 1.9%. The change is the seventh-best in the country, according to WalletHub.
