State report touts North Dakota employment outlook
(The Center Square) – Most major industries in North Dakota will add jobs over the next two years, according to a new report released by the state’s Labor Market Information Center.
The state-level report looks at short-term projections through 2025. It predicted only three North Dakota industries would shrink in job numbers. The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry is expected to lose more than 700 jobs, which was the most significant job loss predicted. Jobs in information are projected to decrease by almost 200, and finance and insurance are expected to lose 83 jobs, according to the report.
All other major industries were projected to grow. The largest growth is expected in mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction, which is predicted to add over 1,700 jobs, an increase of over 10%, according to the report.
The industry adding the second-largest number of jobs will be health care and social assistance, the report said. It is projected that over 1,300 new jobs will be added through 2025.
Similarly, an increase of more than 6% is expected for jobs managing companies and enterprises.
The state job openings report shows North Dakota had more than 16,700 online job openings in February. Those numbers reflected a 13% increase over January, though a slight 1.9% decrease from the same month last year, according to the report.
Nearly 60% of all job openings had been posted within the last 30 days, and more than half required either a high school diploma or equivalent or no educational credentials.
The profession with the most significant number of job openings was healthcare practitioners and technical, with more than 3,000, according to the report. It was followed by farming, fishing, and forestry, with 2,869 job openings.
Meanwhile, jobs in construction and extraction fell by 425, the largest over-the-year decrease, the report said.
More people were in the market for a new job in February, with active resumes increasing by 9.8% last month. The state had a total of 2,176 active resumes that had been posted or updated within the last 90 days. Of those, 217 were out-of-state active resumes, according to the report.
