Once again, North Dakota’s economy is leading the nation in some measure.
North Dakota, which had the country’s lowest seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in July at 3.3 percent, also has the nation’s best job outlook, according to a new Manpower survey.

Between October and December, 21 percent of North Dakota employers interviewed said they planned to hire more workers, 6 percent said they expected to reduce payroll and 72 percent expected to maintain current staffing levels. In Minnesota, 14 percent of employers surveyed planned to boost hiring in the fourth quarter, 10 percent expected to cut positions and 74 percent said they would keep staffing the same.

Job Service North Dakota lists more than 1,600 open unfilled jobs in the Grand Forks region, which includes the typical manufacturing and production labor jobs, retail, sales and food service jobs. But a Job Service official says about 80 of those openings are management positions (including retail and bank management) and that there is a better mix of jobs than in the past, with more health care, construction and transportation jobs available. Anyone looking for a job can check out a job fair today from 2-6 p.m. at the Alerus Center.

What do you think of the local job market? Are there enough good, well-paying jobs in the community?