How North Dakota Maintains Steady Unemployment Amid Job Losses

North Dakota's unemployment rate remains unchanged despite another month of job losses, according to a report from the Joint Economic Committee Republicans.

In February, the most recent data available, North Dakota reported an unemployment rate of 2.6% despite a loss of 100 payroll jobs across the state.

That number is far less than the 1,200 net payroll job loss from January. Over the last 12 months, the unemployment rate rose by .4%; however, they state added 4,800 net payroll jobs.

For the month of February, unemployment claims rose by 416. Over the last year unemployment claims in the state rose by 4,493

The Peace Garden State did come in with the second best labor force participation rate in the nation for the month of February, sitting at 69.4%

That number is just over two percentage points below the 10-year high of 71.5%, which was set in February of 2025, but less than a percentage above the 10-time low of 68.5%, which was set in 2021.

Which Sectors Have Seen The Most Growth?

Over the last few years, as with any year, there have been winners and losers when it comes to job growth.

The sectors in the state that have seen the most growth over the last 12 months are:

• Education and Health Services +2,600
• Government +1,800
• Trade, Transportation, and Utilities +1,600
• Construction +600
• Other Services +500

Which Sectors Have Seen the Most Decline?

• Financial Activities -700
• Manufacturing -500
• Mining and Logging -500
• Leisure and Hospitality -300
• Professional and Business Services -200
• Information -100

Nationally in the private sector, jobs rose by 140,000 last month, while North Dakota saw a private sector loss of 300 jobs.

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Over the last year, our state has come in tied for 25th in the nation for percentage gain in the private sector.