Bismarck  (CSi) – Job Service North Dakota reported that labor statistics released Friday show North Dakota’s August not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 percent. The unemployment rate decreased 1.5 percentage points between July and August. August 2019’s rate was 2.6 percentage points lower than the current rate.

Between July and August 2020 unemployment fell by 6,657, a decrease of 25.6 percent. North Dakota typically sees a minor change in unemployment numbers between July and August. The over-the-year-change (August 2019 to August 2020) in the unemployed labor force was 10,263, an increase of 112.5 percent.

The national unemployment rate for August was 8.5 percent. It was 10.5 percent the prior month and 3.8 percent the prior year.

 

North Dakota Not Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Data
  August 2020 July 2020 August 2019
Unemployment Rate 4.8% 6.3% 2.2%
Unemployed 19,386 26,043 9,123
Employed 384,179 384,330 401,132
Labor Force 403,565 410,373 410,255

 

The nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.4 percent for the month, lower than the month prior by 1.8 percent points, and much higher than the same period one year ago. The seasonally adjusted rate for North Dakota was 5.0 percent, 1.6 percentage points lower than the prior month, and 2.6 percentage points higher than the same period one year ago. 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.

In August, North Dakota ranked 6th among all states’ unemployment rates, at 5.0 percent. Nebraska had the lowest rate, with an unemployment rate of 4.0 percent.