Jobs report slip won’t have much effect Bismarck and Mandan

The U.S. Department of Labor says the number of available jobs across the country slipped in June, but local business leaders say Bismarck and Mandan are still in a great position.

Labor numbers show open jobs decreased to 7.3 million and employers were hiring for 5.7 million.

Brian Ritter with the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber EDC says we can't learn a lot from one, subpar report. Ritter says the area and state are still seeing big numbers for open jobs which need to be filled as soon as possible.

“The challenge is and the opportunity maybe if there are markets in other parts of the economy in the country that are sagging, we may now become a beacon. we may now have an easier shot to attract that talent into our community to fill some of our 2,000-plus open jobs,” said Ritter.

Ritter says they'd need about 12 months of data to really nail down if something was changing and leaders need to always think proactively with the job market.

“We don't have a one month or one year or one decade window. We need to fill them on an ongoing basis. That's why it's so important for Bismarck-Mandan to continue to invest in quality of life features, to continue to invest in infrastructure and position our community as a destination,” said Ritter.