Job Service North Dakota summarizes labor-market trends, programs and outreach including JP3 and H-2A activity

Job Service North Dakota told the Senate Workforce Development Committee about recent labor-market trends, the agency’s programs and outreach efforts, and several federally funded and state-funded initiatives aimed at connecting job seekers with employers.

Marsha Havens, manager for labor market information at Job Service North Dakota, summarized key indicators: the state’s unemployment rate was 2.1% while labor-force participation stood at 68.4%; the state recorded about 13,000 online job openings in the most recent month, a 7% month-over-month increase but an 8% decline from a year earlier. Havens said 47% of current openings list a high-school diploma or less as the typical entry-level education and that nearly half require no formal training, with most of the remainder requiring short-term on-the-job training.

Phil Davis, director of workforce services for Job Service North Dakota, described the agency’s nine workforce centers and services. He said the centers serve roughly 34,100 people per…