Minneapolis Federal Gazette: North Dakota -- the Little Engine That Could

When I get around to it, this will be an interesting article to read. There is also a companion article.  For those with a bit of time, enjoy now. I have to get back to posting today's daily activity events in the Bakken.

First article
Author: Ronald A. Wirtz, editor, fedgazette, The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

From the article:

The state’s repositioning on the economic totem pole is dramatic. A decade ago, the state’s per capita personal income ranked 39th in the country; at $23,500, it was about 83 percent of the national average, according to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Over the next 10 years, annual personal income grew by 5.3 percent—two full percentage points better than the national average. By 2009, personal income in the Peace Garden state had leapt to $39,500—slightly above the national average and good for 19th highest.

For much of the decade, that growth went overlooked—indeed, dismissed—as the rest of the country strolled along with the housing boom. But when the country fell into recession, North Dakota gained more attention for its ability to continue swimming against an outgoing economic tide. While job loss has been rampant across the United States and the Ninth District, North Dakota actually added jobs from 2007 through the end of 2009. With 4.9 percent unemployment in March (seasonally unadjusted), North Dakota had easily the lowest unemployment rate in the country—a fraction of the nation’s rate of 9.7 percent and well ahead of second-place South Dakota (5.3 percent).

Second article:
Authors: Terry J. Fitzgerald, Senior Economist and Assistant Vice President; Woncho Chung, Research Assistant; and Ronald Wirtz, Editor, fedgazette

From the article:

As it turns out, that “could’ve been worse” theme runs through most of the Ninth District—not only from sources, but from reams of data. To get a better idea of comparable performance from 2007 through 2009, the fedgazette analyzed employment patterns across various geographic jurisdictions (states, counties, metro versus rural) as well as other categorical frameworks, such as industry sectors and against past recessions.

In general, Ninth District states fared relatively well against states nationwide in terms of total job losses and unemployment rates. Though unemployment rates have grown considerably in the past two years, they grew less than the national average in district states over the past two years. Just as important, unemployment rates in the district were lower to begin with. In December 2009, North Dakota and South Dakota had the two lowest unemployment rates in the nation, with both still under 5 percent. Larger district states—Minnesota and Wisconsin—didn’t perform as well, yet they did outperform the nation. 

The articles are chock-full of economic information regarding the Ninth District of the Federal Reserve. Not much of it is "news" to those living in the Ninth District, but it might be of interest to those on the coasts or overseas.