The jobs report today was pretty grim even though the jobless rate fell to 8.1%. But there's at least one place where the job market is booming like never before, where the state jobless rate is only 3%, where there are ten counties with jobless rates below 2% and where one county with a jaw-dropping 0.7% unemployment rate: North Dakota.
Here's a news report on America's hottest job market, and here's a video version of that report.
HT: Bakken Blog News
Mark Perry: You might like this, which is related to the ND oil miracle.
ReplyDeleteThe old adage is proven again. If you want less of something, increase taxes. If you want more, reduce the taxes.
UK oil production, and government revenue on that production, fell 18%, after the government raised taxes 12% in 2011.
Dropping that tax will see a 13.5% increase in government revenues. Let me repeat that. Putting an extra 12% tax on cost the UK 1.5 billion. Dropping the tax will see an increase in government revenue by 1.5 billion.
Why are governemnts always needing to relearn this?
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/uk-britain-economy-northsea-idUKBRE88609Q20120907
Mark-Question for you. I have mentioned several times about how I believe the stats for North Dakota understate the true impact of the Bakken because they miss, for example, Colorado residents who work their two weeks in ND then go home for a week.
ReplyDeleteHow are those situations actually accounted for in employment statistics? Are they counted as Colorado employed? or what?
Breaker: That's an interesting question. Here are some quick thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. The payroll employment numbers are based on company payroll data ("establishment survey data"), and so the payrolls of a North Dakota company probably count towards North Dakota employment, regardless of the home state of the employees (who might live in Colorado)?
2. The jobless rate is based on a monthly sample survey of households, and those unemployed are likely counted for the city, county and state where they LIVE, not where they work?
Anybody else have information on this?
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ReplyDeleteI do not have an answer, just this video of Ben Bernanke as a young child.
ReplyDeleteLink
I don't have information for the US, but in Canada, the person's employment counted as to where they lived, not worked.
ReplyDeleteAs in ND, there is a lot of commuters working in Alberta, but living in BC, Sask or the east coast.
Where they paid tax, was where they lived. Its also where they paid unemployment benefit insurance, thus they would be counted as working in their home province.
Same for overseas commuters. They count as working in the province of residence.
The basic argument that I have come up with (posted here and at Million Dollar Way at various times) related to this topic is that stating the low ND unemployment rate misses a huge part of the Bakken miracle.
ReplyDeleteThe transient Colorado worker(2 weeks in ND-1 week at home) is working in ND and not on unmemployment at home. I believe that because of this type of activity that ND not only has a low unemployment rate-it also lowers the unmemployment rate in other states (at least on a regional level)-
I like to think of it as ND essentially has a negative unemployment rate when the HUGE number of regional transient workers are included.
Mark, is there any sort of way to quantify the regional transients?
I don't care where they're living with thier families on the weekend. As long as they're drilling, they need pipe. When that demand goes up, i sell machines to thread the ends of those pipes and the couplings that connect them. When i sell machines my company does well. i do well. my engineers keep thier jobs. Good for employment in Michigan, ND, Germany, and Alberta. Drill Drill Drill.
ReplyDeleteBreaker, the Bakken activity extends down to Texas as well. The Barnett NG activity has cooled somewhat and drilling activity has shifted more towards oil in Eagle Ford, Permian and Bakken. However, several Texas companies are benefitting by shipping equipment and personnel to other areas.
ReplyDeleteBreaker
ReplyDelete"I like to think of it as ND essentially has a negative unemployment rate when the HUGE number of regional transient workers are included."
If you ignore state boundaries it becomes clear. There is higher employment and lower unemployment in total.
If you consider state boundaries there is higher employment in ND and lower unemployment in CO.
The Bakken has had a huge impact on Billings, Montana and the surrounding area. Some of the Bakken workers have houses and apartments over here, too.
ReplyDeleteIf we are stupid enough to give Obama another term, I'm sure he will find a way to stop this, though, since the Sierra Club hates it.
Our economy certainly is quite a complex thing to understand. I don't believe there is anyone who has all the answers, but really the bottom line is how can we as individuals make sure that we are not a part of the coming financial collapse.
ReplyDeleteHere is a short blog that has some vital information. You are invited to look.
http://www.empowernetwork.com/trobertson/blog/coming-financial-collapse-2/
Just returned after a week in Williston, Minot and Dickinson ND. Truely a sight to see. Massive numbers of trucks, men everywhere. Like the Gold Rush. Local school using a state grant added classrooms. Expected 600 kids based on the numbers of new houses (vs. man camps). No dice, no kids. Big round of layoffs Halliburton Williston. No hiring in the oil fields right now. Delta airlines negotiating to buy Bakken crude direct for their new refinery. Local guys say Delta want to get out of hedging fuel contracts as hate the speculators. kirby
ReplyDelete@KRedfire1