Counties with the highest unemployment in North Dakota

The first jobs report fully under the new Trump administration showed a softening job market, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.1% in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released March 7.

Job growth increased but fell below expectations, one of several possible fissures appearing in the once rock-solid labor market. Businesses are pulling back on hiring as the economic forecast and policy outlook grow murkier due to volatile trade policies and large cuts to the federal workforce.

Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, pushing up total cuts to the federal workforce. In the first two months of 2025, 62,530 federal workers were let go. However, the most recent cuts, including the Department of Education's workforce getting slashed by nearly half, have not yet appeared in official jobs data. Retail employment also fell by 6,000.

The broader unemployment index, known as the U-6, which also includes laborers working part-time because they can't find full-time work, and those who want to work but have given up searching, rose to 8%, its highest since October 2021.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in North Dakota, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in January 2025, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Key takeaways: Jobs report shows softening labor market

February's job growth of 151,000 fell below economists' expected gains of 160,000, showing the labor market is cooling faster than predicted. Experts say many companies weighing policy changes and economic uncertainty are deciding it's safer to hold off on hiring decisions for now.

"If you were a company and you were saying, 'I'm looking to expand, or I'm looking to hire,' you would have investors in those companies saying, 'Are you crazy?'" Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at Lightcast, told Marketplace.

Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in two years, which may have led to layoffs or hiring slowdowns, Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told NBC News.

The big story: From bold promises to frozen labor market

After an initial market pop following Trump's electoral win, indexes have slumped to below when he took office, and uncertainty about the future of the markets is a common theme. Are threatened tariffs in place, delayed, reversed, or ramped up? Has that federal worker been fired or given their job back? Are those federal dollars slashed or reinstated? It's a question mark that changes daily.

Research shows that uncertainty invites lower investment, slows employment, and increases financial market volatility. The word "uncertain" showed up 47 times in the March edition of the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's snapshot of reports from across the nation, compared to 17 times in the previous report from January.

The new administration's blitz of executive orders and trade policy waffling have cast a dense fog over the short-term economic outlook. One thing that is known? Uncertainty isn't good for business planning, job creation, or hiring.

In a March 12 interview with Semafor, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon noted that average consumers likely don't change "what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," but "companies might."

"Uncertainty is not a good thing," Dimon added.

To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in North Dakota.

50. Burke County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,061 people (25 unemployed)

48. Golden Valley County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 966 people (24 unemployed)

48. Renville County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,204 people (30 unemployed)

46. Adams County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: -0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 940 people (24 unemployed)

46. Bowman County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,405 people (37 unemployed)

42. Grand Forks County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 41,366 people (1,108 unemployed)

42. Griggs County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,146 people (31 unemployed)

42. McKenzie County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,917 people (216 unemployed)

42. Sioux County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: -0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,227 people (33 unemployed)

41. Hettinger County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,172 people (33 unemployed)

37. Williams County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,477 people (596 unemployed)

37. Dunn County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,976 people (58 unemployed)

37. Grant County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,190 people (35 unemployed)

37. Burleigh County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 53,208 people (1,538 unemployed)

31. Cass County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 117,764 people (3,481 unemployed)

31. Richland County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,948 people (272 unemployed)

31. Slope County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 304 people (9 unemployed)

31. Ramsey County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,965 people (180 unemployed)

31. Stark County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,253 people (511 unemployed)

31. LaMoure County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,165 people (64 unemployed)

23. Traill County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,142 people (128 unemployed)

23. Stutsman County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,078 people (346 unemployed)

23. McIntosh County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,244 people (39 unemployed)

23. Ward County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 35,763 people (1,117 unemployed)

23. Ransom County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,740 people (84 unemployed)

23. Mountrail County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,127 people (128 unemployed)

23. Nelson County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,553 people (48 unemployed)

23. Barnes County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,687 people (176 unemployed)

22. Steele County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 838 people (27 unemployed)

20. Sargent County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,779 people (58 unemployed)

20. Morton County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,858 people (657 unemployed)

17. Billings County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 495 people (17 unemployed)

17. Towner County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,022 people (35 unemployed)

17. Wells County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,911 people (65 unemployed)

16. Pierce County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,836 people (69 unemployed)

14. Eddy County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,178 people (46 unemployed)

14. McLean County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,492 people (175 unemployed)

13. Cavalier County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,624 people (65 unemployed)

12. Bottineau County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,112 people (129 unemployed)

11. Logan County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: +2.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 939 people (39 unemployed)

10. Mercer County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,872 people (165 unemployed)

7. Benson County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,024 people (90 unemployed)

7. Walsh County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,198 people (229 unemployed)

7. Pembina County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,096 people (137 unemployed)

5. Sheridan County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 552 people (27 unemployed)

5. McHenry County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,664 people (131 unemployed)

4. Oliver County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 928 people (50 unemployed)

3. Kidder County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: +2.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,138 people (65 unemployed)

2. Rolette County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,145 people (304 unemployed)

1. Emmons County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,586 people (107 unemployed)

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.