Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks are all included in statistical reports of U.S. metropolitan areas because their populations are higher than 50,000. It’s a beneficial designation because of the information it delivers, and while Minot’s circumstances are similar, we don’t get the data to prove it.
That notwithstanding, this report from Inforum is worth a quick read. North Dakota’s metropolitan areas have among the lowest unemployment rates in the country, all of them currently less than 2%. The report shows that nothing is slowing North Dakota’s economy down more than a lack of workers, and it invites the question, what are we doing to retain and attract them?
