How Many Layoffs Have There Been In North Dakota So Far In 2025?

Many people decide to move all the way to North Dakota for the abundant job opportunities. It seems like every other day we have a new business opening, a new restaurant firing up its grill, and a new local hangout popping up in the downtown area of one of our cities.

Even though we're bringing people into our state to work from all over the world, we still have significant layoffs every year.

North Dakota Layoffs 2025

Curious how many layoffs there have been in 2025 so far? I did a little digging, and what I found is pretty interesting; the number is higher than you might think.

First, let's look at how many people are part of the workforce in North Dakota. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, we have a consistent labor force of 428,000 to 430,000 people. This number represents employed and unemployed individuals in the labor force.

According to a report published by USAFacts.org, using data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics, just in the month of May, 5,000 people were laid off or discharged. That should give you some indication of where we are at now, with it being mid-September.

Keep in mind that mergers, downsizing, closings, and employee performance all play into these statistics.

To date, in 2025, the source reports that North Dakota has a total of 29,000 layoffs and discharges so far. That is a 3.6 percent increase compared to last year (2024).

You might read this and think we're on an upward trend, but though we have some dips and peaks, with the exception of 2020 (COVID), we've stayed pretty consistent with our layoff numbers.

Now, that we've established where we're at with employment so far in 2025, let's look at some interesting and unique jobs that have recently been available in North Dakota.