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Local Area Unemployment Statistics, State and Area Employment, JOLTS · North Dakota

How is the job market in North Dakota?

The unemployment rate in North Dakota was 2.2% in the month ended , against 4.2% for the United States.

North Dakota, unemployment, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

North Dakota, unemployment, each month, one row for each measure
  • Unemployment rate2.2%2.0% to 8.7%
  • Participation rate68.9%68.3% to 70.9%
  • Employment-population ratio67.4%63.2% to 69.1%

North Dakota, people, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soEach row has a scale of its own, printed under its nameNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

North Dakota, people, each month, one row for each measure
  • Labor force, thousands430.3407.3 to 435.9
  • Employed, thousands420.8374.8 to 424.9
  • Unemployed, thousands9.58.2 to 35.7

North Dakota, jobs and pay, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soEach row has a scale of its own, printed under its nameNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

North Dakota, jobs and pay, each month, one row for each measure
  • Nonfarm payrolls, thousands447.3386.4 to 450.4
  • Average hourly earnings$35.45$25.61 to $36.10
  • Average weekly hours35.533.4 to 37.0

North Dakota, openings and turnover rates, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

North Dakota, openings and turnover rates, each month, one row for each measure
  • Job openings rate3.9%3.3% to 8.3%
  • Hires rate4.0%3.3% to 7.6%
  • Quits rate2.7%1.8% to 3.8%
  • Layoffs and discharges rate1.1%0.9% to 10.5%
  • Total separations rate4.0%3.2% to 13.5%

Each row is one measure of North Dakota over the last ten years, one month to a point, with its newest value and its range printed beside it and a dashed line at zero. A gap is a month with no value. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

Observed .

North Dakota, openings and turnover, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soEach row has a scale of its own, printed under its nameNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

North Dakota, openings and turnover, each month, one row for each measure
  • Job openings, thousands1815 to 40
  • Hires, thousands1815 to 30
  • Quits, thousands127 to 16
  • Layoffs and discharges, thousands54 to 46
  • Total separations, thousands1814 to 59

Each row is one measure of North Dakota over the last ten years, one month to a point, with its newest value and its range printed beside it and a dashed line at zero. A gap is a month with no value. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

Observed .

Right now

The unemployment rate in North Dakota was 2.2% in September 2026, ranking 50th highest of 51 among the states and the District of Columbia.

Over a year it is down 0.4 percentage points (ours). The rate for the United States was 4.2% in the same month. The source marks this value preliminary.

The unemployment rate in September 2026 was the lowest since October 2023.

See every measure with its value and rank

Jobs and payOurs: change and rank

Nonfarm payroll employment was 447.3 thousand in September 2026, up 0.2% over a year (ours), 48th highest of 51.

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private payrolls was $35.45 in September 2026, up 0.1% over a year (ours), 24th highest of 51.

See the payrolls, hours and earnings

Job openings and turnoverOurs: change and rank

The job openings rate was 3.9% in December 2025, down 1.2 percentage points over a year (ours), 28th highest of 51.

The hires rate was 4.0% in December 2025, down 0.2 percentage points over a year (ours), 3rd highest of 51.

The quits rate was 2.7% in December 2025, up 0.7 percentage points over a year (ours), 5th highest of 51.

See every openings and turnover figure

Understanding the labor market of North Dakota

Where it stands today

The unemployment rate in North Dakota was 2.2% in September 2026.

What do the figures for North Dakota measure?

This page gathers the labor market figures of North Dakota that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes: how many people are in the labor force, at work and unemployed, how many payroll jobs there are and what they pay, and how many jobs are open and how many people were hired, quit or lost a job.

Read more

The unemployment figures come from Local Area Unemployment Statistics, a model that BLS runs for each state every month. The payroll jobs, hours and earnings come from a monthly survey of employers, and the job openings and labor turnover from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

What 500metrics adds: each figure's rank among the fifty states and the District of Columbia, its change over a year, the last time it was higher and lower, the nation's figure beside a rate where BLS gives one, and the last ten years of every figure as small charts.

The numbers behind the chart

What are the latest figures for North Dakota?19 measures, each in its own newest month
North Dakota: the newest month of each measure, its change over a year (ours), its rank among the states and the District of Columbia, the nation's value and the last months it was higher and lower (ours)
MeasureSectionMonthValueChange over a yearRankUnited StatesLast higherLast lower
Unemployment rateUnemployment2.2%−0.4 pts50 of 514.2%
Participation rateUnemployment68.9%−0.9 pts3 of 5161.8%
Employment-population ratioUnemployment67.4%−0.6 pts1 of 5159.2%
Labor forcePeople430.3 thousand−0.5%47 of 51n/a
EmployedPeople420.8 thousand−0.2%47 of 51n/a
UnemployedPeople9.5 thousand−15.0%49 of 51n/a
Nonfarm payrollsJobs and pay447.3 thousand+0.2%48 of 51n/a
Average hourly earningsJobs and pay$35.45+0.1%24 of 51n/a
Average weekly hoursJobs and pay35.5 hours+0.3%3 of 51n/a
Job openings rateOpenings and turnover rates3.9%−1.2 pts28 of 514.0%
Hires rateOpenings and turnover rates4.0%−0.2 pts3 of 513.3%
Quits rateOpenings and turnover rates2.7%+0.7 pts5 of 512.0%
Layoffs and discharges rateOpenings and turnover rates1.1%−0.2 pts10 of 511.1%
Total separations rateOpenings and turnover rates4.0%+0.2 pts7 of 513.3%
Job openingsOpenings and turnover18 thousand−25.0%48 of 51n/a
HiresOpenings and turnover18 thousand−5.3%44 of 51n/a
QuitsOpenings and turnover12 thousand+33.3%46 of 51n/a
Layoffs and dischargesOpenings and turnover5 thousand−16.7%45 of 51n/a
Total separationsOpenings and turnover18 thousand+5.9%47 of 51n/a

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What is the unemployment rate in each county of North Dakota?53 counties, September 2026, by name
North Dakota: the unemployment rate of each county in September 2026 and a year before, not seasonally adjusted (the change ours)
CountyRateA year beforeChange
Adams County1.8%1.9%−0.1 pts
Barnes County1.9%2.3%−0.4 pts
Benson County2.1%2.7%−0.6 pts
Billings County1.9%1.4%+0.5 pts
Bottineau County1.6%2.3%−0.7 pts
Bowman County1.5%1.4%+0.1 pts
Burke County1.4%2.1%−0.7 pts
Burleigh County1.7%2.0%−0.3 pts
Cass County1.8%2.1%−0.3 pts
Cavalier County1.7%2.3%−0.6 pts
Dickey County0.9%1.5%−0.6 pts
Divide County1.4%1.9%−0.5 pts
Dunn County2.5%2.2%+0.3 pts
Eddy County1.7%1.8%−0.1 pts
Emmons County2.5%2.9%−0.4 pts
Foster County1.4%1.7%−0.3 pts
Golden Valley County1.7%2.2%−0.5 pts
Grand Forks County1.6%2.0%−0.4 pts
Grant County1.7%1.9%−0.2 pts
Griggs County1.5%2.0%−0.5 pts
Hettinger County1.7%2.0%−0.3 pts
Kidder County1.9%2.6%−0.7 pts
LaMoure County1.7%1.8%−0.1 pts
Logan County1.7%2.2%−0.5 pts
McHenry County2.5%2.5%0.0 pts
Show 28 more rows
CountyRateA year beforeChange
McIntosh County1.4%2.0%−0.6 pts
McKenzie County1.9%2.4%−0.5 pts
McLean County1.8%2.2%−0.4 pts
Mercer County2.1%2.5%−0.4 pts
Morton County1.8%2.0%−0.2 pts
Mountrail County2.0%2.3%−0.3 pts
Nelson County1.6%2.1%−0.5 pts
Oliver County2.8%2.4%+0.4 pts
Pembina County2.7%2.7%0.0 pts
Pierce County2.0%2.3%−0.3 pts
Ramsey County1.5%2.1%−0.6 pts
Ransom County1.5%2.4%−0.9 pts
Renville County1.6%2.0%−0.4 pts
Richland County1.6%2.0%−0.4 pts
Rolette County2.9%3.3%−0.4 pts
Sargent County1.8%3.3%−1.5 pts
Sheridan County2.2%3.1%−0.9 pts
Sioux County2.4%2.8%−0.4 pts
Slope County2.3%2.3%0.0 pts
Stark County1.9%2.1%−0.2 pts
Steele County2.3%2.3%0.0 pts
Stutsman County1.6%1.9%−0.3 pts
Towner County1.6%2.2%−0.6 pts
Traill County2.0%2.1%−0.1 pts
Walsh County2.0%2.3%−0.3 pts
Ward County1.7%2.2%−0.5 pts
Wells County1.9%1.8%+0.1 pts
Williams County2.1%2.6%−0.5 pts
What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • The unemployment figures of a state are estimates from a model, not a count. BLS revises the latest months as more data arrive and revises the past years every March.
  • The payroll figures are estimates from a survey of employers. BLS revises them twice after the first release and once a year, when it benchmarks them to the count of jobs covered by unemployment insurance. Average hourly earnings and average weekly hours are for all employees on private payrolls and are not seasonally adjusted.
  • The state figures of job openings and labor turnover come from a survey whose estimates for a single state have a larger sampling error than the nation's. Each figure shows its own newest month, which can be older than the month of the unemployment rate.
  • A rank is among the fifty states and the District of Columbia in the same month, highest value first, and a large state ranks high on a count of people or jobs. The changes, the ranks and the months a figure was last higher and lower are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes.
  • The county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so each county's rate is set beside its own rate a year before.

Observed . Checked .

How to cite this

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Current Population Survey; State and Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings; Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey), labor market of North Dakota, through September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "How is the job market in North Dakota?", https://500metrics.com/states/north-dakota.

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