Jobs in North Dakota, USA: 825 Job Openings
There has been a boom in the number of jobs in North Dakota along with the oil boom brought on by fracking the Bakken formation.
North Dakota jobs now pay well above the national average because of sheer demand for labor in a sparsely populated state. There are so many ND jobs that its unemployment rate is only 3.3%, while the national average is 7.8%, and the national unemployment rate approaches 15% when you factor in those who gave up looking for work.
The top paying ND jobs are in the oil industry. The average pay for oil pumpers, derrick hands and other oil field jobs that only require a high school diploma averages $77,000. Petroleum engineers make six figures. Semi-skilled jobs like mechanics and welders pay somewhere in between.
The lure of $80,000 to $100,000 per year salaries straight out of high school is causing a labor shortage in other areas, driving up wages. Strikes in New York are demanding $10 an hour for fast food jobs. Fast food jobs in North Dakota routinely pay $15 an hour. North Dakota truck drivers make $80,000 a year, twice the national average. Even convenience store clerks make several dollars above the minimum wage. Medical wages have not increased as much as unskilled labor and technical positions.