North Dakota’s Unemployment Rate 1.9% for May

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NEWS RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 23, 2026
North Dakota’s Unemployment Rate 1.9% for May
BISMARCK, N.D. – Job Service North Dakota reported that labor statistics released today showed a gain of 200 jobs over-the-year in May, and an unemployment rate of 1.9 percent. North Dakota gained just over 2,000 entering the labor force since the prior year. The state’s civilian labor force participation rate for May was 69.5 percent, higher than the national rate of 61.7 percent.
In addition to the over-the-year gain in employment, North Dakota saw an over-the-month increase of 6,700 jobs (+1.5 percent). This was primarily due to the beginning of construction season. Labor force also increased from April to May by 1,925.
The national not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May was 4.1 percent. It was 4.0 percent the prior year.
North Dakota Not Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Data
	May 2026	Apr 2026	May 2025
Unemployment Rate	1.9%	2.2%	2.3%
Labor Force Participation Rate	69.5%	69.2%	69.7%
Unemployed	8,225	9,564	9,755
Employed	424,605	421,341	421,008
Labor Force	432,830	430,905	430,763
The nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent for the month, the same as the prior year. The seasonally adjusted rate for North Dakota was 2.4 percent, 0.2 percentage points lower than the prior year. The seasonal adjustment process uses a statistical adjustment to accommodate predictable fluctuations between months such as length of daylight and typical weather, allowing for comparison between all months of a year.
North Dakota ranked 2nd among all states’ unemployment rates at 2.4 percent. South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.1 percent.
Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates
	May 2026	Apr 2026	May 2025
North Dakota	2.4%	2.4%	2.6%
United States	4.3%	4.3%	4.3%

 

North Dakota’s Nonfarm Employment

Preliminary estimates indicate North Dakota’s May 2026 not seasonally adjusted employment increased 6,700 (+1.5 percent) over-the-month and increased 200 over-the-year.

 

Six of the 13 major industries reported year-over-year employment increases, led by Private Educational and Health Services posting a gain of 1,600 jobs (+2.2 percent). The Health Care and Social Assistance subsector contributed all of this gain. Other top employment increases were reported in Other Services (+1,300), Government (+700), Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (+400), and Leisure and Hospitality (+200).
Top over-the-year employment decreases were reported in Wholesale Trade (-2,100), Professional and Business Services (-700), Financial Activities (-400), and Mining and Logging (-400).
METRO AREAS
Three of the four North Dakota metro areas reported increases in annual employment. Grand Forks reported the largest employment increase, with a gain of 500 jobs. Minot and Bismarck followed with employment gains of 100 each. Fargo posted the largest change in employment, with a loss of 1,800 jobs.
FARGO
●	Top employment gains: Private Educational and Health Services (+700), Retail Trade (+200), and Other Services (+200).
●	Top employment losses: Professional and Business Services (-1,000), Leisure and Hospitality (-600), and Wholesale Trade (-600).
BISMARCK
●	Top employment gains: Private Educational and Health Services (+400) and Other Services (+200).
●	Top employment losses: Leisure and Hospitality (-200), Wholesale Trade (-200), and Mining, Logging, and Construction (-200).
GRAND FORKS
●	Top employment gains: Professional and Business Services (+300) and Government (+200).
●	Top employment losses: Wholesale Trade (-200) and Private Educational and Health Services (-100).
MINOT
●	Top employment gains: Government (+500) and Private Educational and Health Services (+100).
●	Top employment losses: Leisure and Hospitality (-100), Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (-100), Wholesale Trade (-100), Mining, Logging, and Construction (-100), and Retail Trade (-100).

Notes:

 

1. The unemployment rate is the percentage of people actively seeking work compared to those in the labor force (employed plus unemployed).
2. Data are subject to revision.
3. The Job Service North Dakota Labor Market Information Center produced these statistics using the U.S. Bureau of LaborStatistics’ nationally-required standard methodology.
4. Labor Force data for county and substate areas will be posted on 6-30-2026 to the Labor Market Information website: https://www.ndlmi.com.
5. Nonfarm Employment (CES) is a monthly estimate of nonfarm employment. It is benchmarked to actual data annually.
6. The Current Employment Statistics (CES) Survey, conducted by the BLS, is a monthly establishment survey of about 140,000 businesses and government agencies, which cover approximately 490,000 individual worksites. The main objective of the CES Survey is to estimate nonfarm employment, hours and earnings at place of work for the entire Nation, individual States, and metropolitan areas. The survey, is a stratified, simple random sample of worksites where the sample strata, or subpopulations, are defined by state, industry, and employment size, yielding a state-based design. The establishment survey, like other sample surveys, is subject to sampling and nonsampling error.
7. The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program produces monthly employment and unemployment estimates for approximately 7,500 geographic areas, which include all States, labor market areas, counties, cities with a population of 25,000 or more, and all cities and towns in New England, regardless of population. LAUS estimates are designed to reflect the labor force concepts embodied in the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly sample survey of households. The survey statistics on the labor force status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over. CPS data are collected each month from a probability sample of approximately 60,000 yield estimates of demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the population.

   
   

 

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For more information, contact:

Marcia Havens, Labor Market Information Manager

Phone: 701-328-4029        |     Email: meha...@nd.gov      |    ndlmi.com

 

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