Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - N.D. sees growth in younger workers

N.D. sees growth in younger workers

Oct 11, 2007 - 05:45:02 CDT

By Associated Press

The number of North Dakota workers under age 35 has grown by more than 2,000 each year from 2004 to 2006, a state group says.

The North Dakota Census Committee said the figures were taken from the Local Employment Dynamics program, an effort involving the Census Bureau and state employment agencies to analyze the state's labor force.

Since 2000, the overall number of workers in North Dakota's labor force has grown by about 12,000, the group said in a statement.

State officials say the change reflects North Dakota's economic growth and a demand for workers. North Dakota has been trying to stem an exodus of young people.

"We simply were losing lots of young people," said Kevin Iverson a research analyst at the Labor Market Information Center of Job Service North Dakota. "It's kind of a nice story to turn around."

Fargo and Bismarck are seeing most of the growth in young workers, though their numbers are increasing around the state, the Census Committee said.

North Dakota's quality of life and a desire to raise children in the state have helped boost the state's work force, said Brian Walters, president of the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp.

Craig and Trina Michels moved to St. Cloud, Minn., so Craig, now 25, could get a job in architecture.

Eighteen months later, a job opportunity brought them back, and they don't plan to leave.

"We definitely wanted to raise our family in North Dakota," said Trina Michels, 23, a native of Napoleon and a credit analyst at Cornerstone Bank in Fargo.

"We always wanted to stay. We're very fortunate and glad that we're able to come back and find positions."

News > State

Printer friendly version N.D. sees growth in younger workers

Comments

Long Gone wrote on Oct 11, 2007 10:13 PM:

" Maybe there is complaining about labor quality because the jobs are not quality jobs. Do these jobs require a college degree? If the jobs are $8 jobs, workers don't have much to lose because they can find another $8 job right around the corner. "

PO3 wrote on Oct 11, 2007 11:24 AM:

" From what I've seen with younger workers, they are very good and show up, or they are very bad, don't show up, and don't work once they do. The ones who are good I applaud because once the baby boomers retire, you'll have to support about 1/2 of your brotheren who aren't the good workers you are. Like Hilly says takes a community to help out people who don't want to work. "

Really wrote on Oct 11, 2007 9:04 AM:

" So how is that the case when the fargo forum ran an article last week that said that for every 100 workers in ND there is currently 53 that are not of working age. With that number to be something close to 70 out of every 100 by the year 2020. They had defined working age as 16 to 65. The article "N.D. facing shift Non-working age people on the rise" was published on Oct. 4 2007. I think someone has their numbers mixed up. "

JB wrote on Oct 11, 2007 8:06 AM:

" Are these 12,000 white collar jobs or blue collar jobs? Are they in farming, oil, retail, what? What is the average hourly wage for these 12,000 workers? How does it compare to the surrounding region? Everyone knows that younger workers earn less on average due to their lesser work experience. Anyone in the over 40 crowd want to chime in about the value of experience on the job? The numbers in this article sound like window dressing. Where is a detailed breakdown? To george: glad you and your ilk were able to finally identify and solve problems in ND that arose FIFTY dog-gone years ago. Good one! "

Contractor wrote on Oct 11, 2007 7:54 AM:

" Having more young people come to the state really doesn't help that much. Because of their lack of a good work ethic, we have to hire 3 workers for every 2 needed. So many of the young people today take more time off, work less hours, put forth less effort, and know less when compared to young people from years back. Today, when we bid jobs, we have to bid them higher because of the lack of good quality labor. What young workers from years ago could do in 8 hours, takes today's current young workers 10 hours. It is not uncommon for a young worker today to suddenly not show up for work because it was a beautiful day out and the sandbars were full of them. And paying them a higher wage has no bearing on them performing better. They all want the higher wage, yet when you pay it, they still don't show up, and do less work. Unfortunately, as bad as it is, it is a sign of the times and is only going to get worse. "

george wrote on Oct 11, 2007 6:24 AM:

" More proof that this is an exciting time to live in this state. I grew up in rural ND. For 50 years we lost economic ground to the nation and world. Finally, we are seeing that turnaround. "

Post Your Own Comment

All online comments are limited to 350 words total.
Comments are reviewed for taste, tone and language before posting.
Some comments may be used in the Tribune's print edition.
We value and respect your privacy, but The Bismarck Tribune might
disclose certain information to governmental entities if served with subpoena.