My memories of driving through the Dakotas as a child were of driving on the moon. I remember miles and miles of empty open space. The temperature in the winter can dip below negative 60 degrees. And summers can be hot and humid. But if you’re looking for a job you are sure to find one in North Dakota, where the unemployment rate is as low as 1.5% in some towns. In fact, it hasn’t gone below 5% since 1987.
Many of the jobs are in the booming oil industry, but with the influx of people moving there, jobs like teaching, retail, and food service. In fact, local fast food restaurants are now paying workers $15-17 an hour and giving bonuses to anyone that can help them fill their jobs. Servers in restaurants make around $25 an hour and truck drivers make between $70-80,000 a year.
Most of the state is rural, and the agricultural industry is productive and profitable. It’s the only state that has added manufacturing jobs over the last decade.
This oil boom is expected to continue for years to come, and the national unemployment rate is too. So, if you can handle long, hard hours and brutal winters, and you want to double your income or find a good, high paying job, go north young man! To North Dakota.
