Business

The ‘Bizarro World’ of North Dakota: Where the Plains Stretch and Jobs Are Plentiful

We usually associate states like Texas and Virginia to be the most business friendly and plump with job openings. However thanks to a boom in energy production and agriculture, Yahoo’s Daniel Gross makes the argument for North Dakota as the beacon of American job growth in 2011 and the “bizarro world” of the U.S. economy:

“In May nonfarm payroll employment was up 4.3 percent from the year before, and the unassuming state sported a gaudy 3.2 percent unemployment rate. In several counties, the rate is below one percent. The state jobs office has 15,205 listings, up 64 percent from May 2010. North Dakota, which is one of the smallest states by population (about 670,000) and one of the largest geographically, has .7 unemployed persons for every job opening. In the U.S., the labor force participation rate is an anemic 64.2 percent. In North Dakota, it stands at 74 percent.”

North Dakota’s success is thanks to a boom in oil production, doubling since 2007, and the state’s prolific agricultural economy, which is the largest single producer in the U.S. of fourteen crops. Gross discusses North Dakota’s economic surge:

If the U.S. economy looked a little more like North Dakota and a little less like Las Vegas we’d be in better shape.

Did you ever think you would hear that?
The boom in oil production has required a great deal of support, and created a demand for a range of workers: truckers, accountants, cooks and HR managers. Gross notes that in one town gas stations, convenience stores, and McDonald’s are offering $12.50 to $15.00 an hour for entry-level jobs.
While North Dakota basks in economic success, its lower neighbor isn’t doing too bad either. PowerLine Blog on South Dakota:
“Its unemployment rate was 4.8% in May, not as low as North Dakota’s but a heck of a lot better than the national rate of 9.1%. South Dakota doesn’t have any oil, but its business-friendly environment and superior work force attract jobs of all kinds. I spent last weekend in Sioux Falls, a booming city of over 150,000. Not only is the business climate terrific, it is also a good place to get sick. We spent some time at a local hospital (I was a visitor, not a patient) but were most impressed by the children’s hospital next door. Not only does it offer state of the art medicine, it is designed to look like a castle.”
As many states export jobs, the sparsely populated Dakotas import people to deal with a labor shortage. While they benefit from plentiful natural resources, what can other states learn from the Dakotas’ success?

(H/T:PowerLine Blog)

Comments (30)

  • yiska8
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 9:53pm

    Good Luck ND! You’ll be inundated with outsiders and then the government will target your success. The money will roll in for a while like any boom. Enjoy it and keep doing what got you to this success through an economic recession and current depression. I didn’t think Texas could feel crowded as big as it is, but we native Texans are starting to take notice. Native North Dakotans will start to see it more and more too. With money comes power and absolute powers corrupts absolutely. Keep a watch over your state representatives, and local leaders to make sure they don’t revel in your success and get inflated egos. Keep them honest and make them earn their pay. Oh yeah, and vote them out at the first whiff of corruption!

    Report Post » yiska8  
    • benrnd
      Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:44am

      ND owns that largest business in the state and controls the banking through the bank of ND. During the Carter era (error) many farming families drilled for oil and and found a vast source of oil which Carter mandated to be capped off. Since that time, ND is resilent to outside methods of manupulation and Federal sourcing. ND is the center of the NA’n Continent, The Peace Garden State and best place to live where you can see the horizon in 360, where all the men are good looking, the women strong and the children are all above average and the families earn good income (just like in Minnesota).

      Report Post » benrnd  
    • benrnd
      Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:11pm

      If you do not have an invitation to live in North Dakota (ND) you will be turned away. This silent little state is the third largest oil producing within the 13 largest oil exporting country of the world (the USA), the richest per capita, the third largest depository of nuclear ABM’s on Earth, thought to be decommissioned. Just stay out and leave ND alone. In the 60’s and 70’s, the contrails above your head were all from Minot and Grand Forks, planes carrying nuclear anti-aggression deployment. ND is silent and stay away unless you are a tourist. Get your visa and passport before thinking about North Dakota.

      Report Post » benrnd  
    • benrnd
      Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:37pm

      Not like Texas, North Dakota has three roads in from a foreign country. There are seismic installations along the Canadian border which actually monitor surface movement. These were installed in the 60’s. There cannot be any tunneling or intrusion not detected. Air-drops of contraband are detected and some cases shot out of the sky.

      Report Post » benrnd  
    • benrnd
      Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:50pm

      You must be a moron from Texas with no idea or concept of your Northern Family. Do not reply, say no more as you have already said you are a moron that should not know how to type.

      Report Post » benrnd  
  • NationOregonian
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 4:59pm

    All you conservative no-nothings don’t get it. North Dakota has its own State bank. It hasn’t been devestated by the same free-for-all kind of free market fundamentalism (the Enron model) that Republicans instituted which then crashed our economy. Socialism saved the day in North Dakota!

    Report Post » NationOregonian  
    • bikerr
      Posted on July 6, 2011 at 6:02pm

      NationOregonian
      Posted on July 6, 2011 at 4:59pm

      All you conservative no-nothings don’t get it. North Dakota has its own State bank. It hasn’t been devestated by the same free-for-all kind of free market fundamentalism (the Enron model) that Republicans instituted which then crashed our economy. Socialism saved the day in North Dakota!—————————————————————————————-
      All lies!. try using facts instead of farts and maybe you will get a few to believe you.

      Report Post »  
    • benrnd
      Posted on July 7, 2011 at 12:42pm

      • Not like Texas, North Dakota has three roads in from a foreign country. There are seismic installations along the Canadian border which actually monitor surface movement. These were installed in the 60’s. There cannot be any tunneling or intrusion not detected. Air-drops of contraband are detected and some cases shot out of the sky.
      • ND owns that largest business in the state and controls the banking through the bank of ND. During the Carter era (error) many farming families drilled for oil and found a vast source of oil which Carter mandated to be capped off. Since that time, ND is resilient to outside methods of manipulation and Federal sourcing. ND is the center of the NA’n Continent, The Peace Garden State and best place to live where you can see the horizon in 360, where all the men are good looking, the women strong and the children are all above average and the families earn good income (just like in Minnesota).

      Report Post » benrnd  
  • cranberry
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 4:36pm

    I’m from N.D, family still lives there – we like it the way it is. No riff raff. Good place to raise kids (still) – nice people, not much crime. Wide open spaces, but you do have to contend with short summers, long very cold (40 below) winters. Thus, no riff raff. North Dakotans are very loyal. A Home Depot moved in, but moved out after a short period of time because the local hardware store was more popular. Fortunately it hasn’t been “discovered” like Montana.

    Report Post » cranberry  
  • hbest
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 3:48pm

    Fossil Fuel also refers to the massive amounts of vegetation that were laid sown during The Flood, not just from animals. Plants leave “fossils” as well. And yes, I am speaking of that flood, Noah’s.

    Report Post »  
  • xoke
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 2:34pm

    I work in the “small” oil in Kansas. It, along with farming, provides a huge econominc boost to the state’s smaller, less populated counties (the ones that mostly get ignored by the state legislature). I know everyone hates “big oil”, what they don’t realize is that there are hundreds of small oil companies, and hundreds more small businesses to support them. Oh, and we have a ton of wind farms too, but thier infastructure is always dependent coal fire power plants…putting up the transmission lines ans such. If the fed would leave us alone we would be sooo much better off. Washington DC is not Kansas. New York is not Texas. California is not the Dakotas. As soon as DC realizes this, we will all be better off.

    Report Post » xoke  
  • Defender of the Republic
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 12:58pm

    Once Obama finds out about this there is going to be hell to pay!

    Report Post »  
  • dutchvliet
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 11:40am

    God bless the “fly over states”! I LOVE Sioux FallsSD, and think Glenn should consider moving his Mercury business to SFSD! Oh, and you’re all invited to come to LifeLight Festival near Sioux Falls on Labor Day weekend!!!

    Report Post »  
  • swimmer1940
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 11:31am

    The great thing about N. Dakota is a winter day with -25 degrees and a 25 mph wind. Keeps out the riffraff and makes great living for the hardier types who believe in hard work and honest living.
    There is a State that could teach Minnesota’s big city wussies about life, hard work and clean living.
    Rural Minnesotans learned a long time ago, but their votes count for nothing with all the moochers living in the highly populated areas.

    Report Post »  
  • EL-LOBO
    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 10:35am

    Try to get a place to live in Williston or Dickinson, where much of the oilfeild activity is happening. A two bedroom apartment will cost around 2400 a month. I live out here and the money to be made is here, but they gouge you for housing so much that you will spend it all in cost of living. But for a truck driver, if you can find a place to live, A 100 thousand a year is quite easy to make here. I just hope After that spill in the Yellowstone river in Billings M.T. and all the attention on N.D, for oilfeild jobs, Obama and the E.P.A doesnt decide enough is enough. After all, look at what they are trying to do to Texas for creating so many jobs. How dare they…

    Report Post »  
    • benrnd
      Posted on July 7, 2011 at 1:07pm

      Just buck-up – it may be like living in the Washington DC Beltway. If you not want to live there – do not and stop your bitching.

      Report Post » benrnd  
  • firemanfrank
    Posted on July 5, 2011 at 9:22pm

    Once Obamanation hears about this thriving State watch to see how he drops the hammer. I am going to follow this just to see how they put a hurting on this State.

    Report Post »  
  • jagr1850
    Posted on July 5, 2011 at 8:21pm

    i am moving to north dakota tomorrow…

    Report Post » jagr1850  
    • bikerr
      Posted on July 5, 2011 at 9:50pm

      jagr1850
      Posted on July 5, 2011 at 8:21pm
      i am moving to north dakota tomorrow…
      —————————————————————-
      Better make sure you have a place to stay first. Everything is booked up and space to live on is hard to find and expensive.Even Minot(miles from the oil field) is hard up for living space,even before the floods.

      Report Post »  
    • Richard Compton
      Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:37am

      Take a place to live with you cause there are no places to rent or buy there. If you have a travel trailor that might work if you can find a place to park it!

      Report Post »  
  • dontbotherme
    Posted on July 5, 2011 at 5:38pm

    Hmmmm… I was born in North Dakota. I’ve never heard North Dakota called bizzaro before, although it truly is. :) Extreme cold. Extreme blizzards. Extreme snow. Good, hard working, honest, God fearing people. Great place to live during the summer.

    Report Post »  
    • ednapearl
      Posted on July 6, 2011 at 11:35am

      My husband was born in ND and his family still lives up there. We lived up there in the late 1970‘s to mid 1980’s. The people of ND are hard working, honest, and God loving people. The winters are normally extremely cold and lots of snow. Summer is short, so the growing season is limited to about 90days on most crops and gardens. The summers are normally hot during the day and cools off nice in the evening. Days are long in the summer because the sun sets around 10PM and in the winter the days are short with the sun setting around 4:30PM. I was born in Denver so I notice the culture is is different from most states. I concluded that the mind set is survival because of the harsh winters resulting in nieghbor helping nieghbor in time of need. There are only 4 major cities, so when a Walmart moves into a community like Bottineau it is welcomed with open arms because the closest Walmart is 100 miles away in Minot. The other thing NDakotans know is that the oil boom can leave as fast as it comes like in the early 80′s. There is also a big coal mine there also. Don’t plan on going to ND unless you have kin to stay with, as there is no rooms at the inn, and rentals are full. Most of the evacuated people in Minot are living with family or friends. Love the self-reliant spirit along with the love of community.

      Report Post »  
  • vennoye
    Posted on July 5, 2011 at 5:07pm

    Good for them!! Go N&S Dakota!!

    Report Post » vennoye  
  • wren
    Posted on July 5, 2011 at 3:49pm

    So let me get this straight…a booming fossil fuel-driven economic success, unemployment at half the national average, coupled w/above adequate healthcare, and all this thriving on Obama’s watch?

    Someone in the White House is going to pay for this.

    Report Post »  
    • isnrblog
      Posted on July 6, 2011 at 9:57am

      LOL! Funny!!

      Report Post »  
    • dlspiece
      Posted on July 6, 2011 at 2:56pm

      fossil fuel?? there is no such thing. You have to learn to change your vocabulary from the indoctrination we received in school to reflect the truth. The earth makes oil naturally, not from decaying bones. how many fossils does it take to make a barrel of oil?

      Report Post »  
  • Samaritan01
    Posted on July 5, 2011 at 1:36pm

    This is extremely BAD news!! When the word gets out to Obama he will “help” them attain a much higher unemployment rate. Afterall we can’t all be equal if someone actually succeeds…..

    Report Post » Samaritan01  
    • cntrlfrk
      Posted on July 5, 2011 at 2:02pm

      You know those “Tax Cuts for Oil Companies” that Obama is always whining about??

      Those are the small oil companies in North Dakota that Obama is threatening.

      If getting rid of these “Tax Cuts” doesn’t punish them enough the Obama EPA will finish the job.

      .

      Report Post » cntrlfrk  
  • Hickory
    Posted on July 5, 2011 at 11:24am

    Hmmm, flyover success. Read and weep blue states.

    Report Post » Hickory  

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