Article About North Dakota Jobs Sparks New Interest in North Dakota's Workforce
An article published at the WashingtonPost.com about an out-of-work woman who moved to North Dakota to find work has sparked a new interest in North Dakota jobs.The article, found by clicking this link, tells the story of Janet Morgan, who, as a last-ditch effort to find work, traveled from her home in Ohio and moved to Glenfield, North Dakota, a town of 134 complete strangers to Morgan. She bought a run-down motor home for $7,000 (the down payment was $100), and Morgan has a job at a call center.
North Dakota Jobs - The Statistics
According to Sarah Johnson, North Dakota's talent recruiter who was interviewed by the Washington Post, "The state's economy grew by 7.3 percent in 2008. It ranks second to last in housing foreclosures and third to last in average credit card debt. Mining, construction and agriculture all recently surged by at least 10 percent. The government just passed $400 million in tax cuts."
Also according to Johnson, there are 9,000 job openings in North Dakota right now.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, North Dakota's unemployment rate in June 2009 was 4.6 percent, the lowest in the nation. Neighboring states Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota have unemployment rates of 6.4 percent, 8.4 percent, and 4.9 percent respectively. The highest unemployment rate is in Michigan, with 15.2 percent (seasonally adjusted).
Find North Dakota Jobs
Where can people who are out of work find these 9,000 job openings in North Dakota? Job Service North Dakota at www.jobsnd.com is the first place to look. When I moved back to North Dakota in 2000 from Nevada, Job Service was my first resource for finding a job.
Another option is NorthDakotaJobs.com. I spoke with Garrett Zimmer, Industry Manager, from their corporate office, and he reported there were "a couple dozen to a couple hundred" job openings currently on their website for North Dakota. NorthDakotaJobs.com is part of the LocalCareers.com network, which hosts a site for every state.
Comments
Linda T.
(Guest)
(Guest)
11/03/2009
I have lived in Minnesota all my life. The weather can't be any worse than here.
I really think I'd like to live in Glenfield. I am newly divorced and am lookinf for a new place to settle down in. I live in the Twin Cities now. I grew up in a small town in Minnesota and and would like to move to a small town again. Plus ther state is beautiful and peacefull.
Mary K
(Guest)
(Guest)
08/19/2009
As a native No Dak (born in Bismarck) I have lived in the Los Angeles area for 25 years. I highly recommend the quality of life in North Dakota, the people, the education, the health care...such ongoing struggles in Calif. My parents have great health care and my school friends (still in No Dak) have kind, college-bound teens. The weather you get use to, or look forward to "snow days" where work and school are cancelled a few days every winter ---unhappily my husband's company doesn't allow us to live there. There are also good home developments at Fargo, Bismarck, Grand forks, Minot, Williston, that are not mobile homes. These are nice, new 3 or 4 bedroom homes with a community that cares about their neighbors...and are "affordable." The mobile home idea may be great for "Janet" but there's much more available. Plus beautiful peaceful country.
Yeah - if you can stand the weather, you're in for some beautiful country.
Great article, Heather. I couldn't handle the winter weather up there, but I have no doubt that the people are super-friendly. I'm glad to hear about all the jobs in North Dakota. :)
I hope more people do this kind of thing we always think that leaving where we are is not possible but if you want to work and live then sometimes it is best to move and start over in our lives we moved 5 times to start over each time.
As a new Grand Forks resident, I couldn't agree more, though it will be chilly in a few months. Nice article.
:-)
Great topic and title Heather.
Great article! I hope Janet Morgan's run-down motor home can withstand those ferocious North Dakota winters. NorthDakotaJob.com's "panic button" is a very clever idea, by the way.
Reading this article, I had visions of "The Grapes of Wrath" and the Okies headed to California. I do think that you have to have the right kind of mindset to move to ND - it can get pretty cold in the winter!
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