Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is so odd, how North Dakota is in the midst of such a massive, massive oil collapse and yet the unemployment rate in Bismarck which is the epicenter of state government and where much the oil companies regional were located still only has 2 percent unemployment.
Seriously interesting information. But it's just a slice of info. Digging further into the BLS site shows that there's a definite cycle to North Dakota's unemployment rate, and that for some reason the month of November always seems to have the lowest unemployment, but it usually spikes higher around January/February, probably because of the winter weather.
I'd also venture that North Dakota's oil boom resulted in severe housing shortages, so if you aren't working in the oil fields, you're probably getting out of the state, living where the rent's much lower, and waiting for the call-back when the jobs reappear.
Many (most?) of the oil workers who have been laid off were actually citizens of other states - they simply went home.
Many, many families where I live have men who work the oil fields and come home once every couple weeks to see their families. Some of them have lost their jobs, increasing our unemployment rate.
Many (most?) of the oil workers who have been laid off were actually citizens of other states - they simply went home.
Many, many families where I live have men who work the oil fields and come home once every couple weeks to see their families. Some of them have lost their jobs, increasing our unemployment rate.
Bingo. Cookie for you.
It's that simple. The overwhelming majority of oil workers are out of staters that go home when there's no work. Add to that the fact that the state is already sparsely populated.
There's not that many people living in the upper midwest so the places left that do employ need people. There is a labor shortage here in eastern South Dakota. Admittedly I work at the highest paying manufacturing place in town and they plan to hire 100 more full time positions this year, and are hiring part time for the first time in forever in order to just get people. The issue is twofold... new capacity from new places that have building, are built, or are expanding, and people that have worked at places, the boomers, which are still retiring.. basically more than half the 3M plant population has been replaced due to retiring within a 10 year timespan. Finding young people that want to keep living here for what today's "normal" manufacturing wages now are, has become more difficult. If I'm going to slave away at 12 bucks an hour, I wouldn't be doing it here in the plains... I need more money for that, fortunately I got it.. but I still am thinking about relocating to another 3M plant to escape the cold.
I would argue that many of these "jobs" are not worth what they pay to live out here where I live though.. only 2 of them pay what I would deem high enough to make it worth living in such a cold, flat, climate.. unless you've lived in Alaska, Minnesota, Northern WI, North Dakota, or Maine, you can't really appreciate how cold it gets and stays out here. Plus on top of that there's a housing shortage still, enough to keep prices high unless you wanna drive 15-30 miles then you could probably do well out here. No state income tax. Give eastern South Dakota a try if you like to go ice fishing (you can leave permanent shacks up for 2-3 months every winter because the lakes are usually frozen by December and stay frozen through February) or think you'd like low population density type of living situation. Yes, we do have plenty of lakes around here within a 35 mile drive. Sioux Falls is the biggest larger city accessible by interstates which I must say are in excellent shape, and everyone goes 80-90 MPH.
If you want to find out the specific town I live, well Bel Brands just finished a cheese plant here, and it's the other place in town that pays a higher wage. There are a lot of choices for places to work around here but a couple stick out.
It's that simple. The overwhelming majority of oil workers are out of staters that go home when there's no work. Add to that the fact that the state is already sparsely populated.
Agreed.. Would you stay there through a winter if you knew basically you had no hope of getting a job and were from out of state? Leave, come back during better times.
But.. The one part of your theory that doesn't seem to hold up quite as well, and there may be an explanation.. What about all the ancillary positions? You've got buttloads of people who came in from out of state to work oil.. They've gone.. So, now, Bob's Burgers doesn't need to employ 20 people to cover the business, so.. They cut back to only having 10 employees. Those 10 they laid off WERE state residents, who are now unemployed.
It's not like everyone left. So, something still doesn't quite add up here for me.
North Dakota's laws allow the credit card industry to add surcharges that are prohibited in other states.
Bismarck began attracting all the big card companies years ago as the center for paying cardholder accounts. If the collection department of MasterCard has a Bismarck address, MasterCard is allowed to charge higher interest rates and add other charges onto their monthly bill legally.
So Bismarck thrives and grows independently of their oil fields. It's the Silicon Valley of the credit card biz.
Agreed.. Would you stay there through a winter if you knew basically you had no hope of getting a job and were from out of state? Leave, come back during better times.
But.. The one part of your theory that doesn't seem to hold up quite as well, and there may be an explanation.. What about all the ancillary positions? You've got buttloads of people who came in from out of state to work oil.. They've gone.. So, now, Bob's Burgers doesn't need to employ 20 people to cover the business, so.. They cut back to only having 10 employees. Those 10 they laid off WERE state residents, who are now unemployed.
It's not like everyone left. So, something still doesn't quite add up here for me.
Not really, what most likely happens is that part timers get full time hours. After the rush, they drop back down.
State-funded support services are minimal in North Dakota. If you've got some money and the prospect of only part-time hours or not at all, leaving for a warmer, more hospital place is the option of choice.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
