Average weekly wage increases by 3.2% in Stutsman County

Masaki Ova, The Jamestown Sun, N.D.
·4 min read

Aug. 24—JAMESTOWN — The average weekly wage from 2020 to 2021 in Stutsman County increased the most in accommodation and food services, information, finance and insurance, construction, wholesale trade industries and other services except public administration, according to the 2021 employment and wages by industry report completed by Job Service North Dakota.

The average weekly wage in Stutsman County is $937, which increased by 3.2% from 2020.

* accommodation and food services, 10.3% from $340 to $375.

* information, 10.3% from $885 to $976.

* finance and insurance, 10% from $1,355 to $1,491.

* construction wages, 9.9% from $983 to $1,080.

* wholesale trade industries, 7% from $1,281 to $1,371..

The average weekly wage for other services except public administration went from $574 to $650 per week, a 13.2% increase. Other services include repairs, religious activities, grant making, advocacy, laundry, personal care and death care among others.

The report uses data from 2021 and is compiled using results from quarterly unemployment insurance contribution reports. Employers report the number of employees they have for each month of a quarter and total quarterly wage earnings. The report states annual results are calculated by averaging employment and wage data from the four quarters of 2021.

A few select groups are exempt from the report, including self-employed individuals, those working for religious organizations, students working for the college they attend, railroad workers and people employed in church-related elementary and secondary schools.

Stutsman County ranks 24th out of 53 counties in the state for an average annual wage at about $48,700. The state average is about $56,850 per year.

Matt Mullins, president of Maxfield Research & Consulting LLC, previously stated 7,614 people left the nine-county region in 2019 that includes Barnes, Dickey, Foster, Griggs, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Stutsman and Wells counties, which could be correlated with individuals seeking higher-paying jobs. He said 5,229 workers came into the region.

It costs about $22,580 to about $22,980 per year for a single adult to live in Stutsman County, according to Job Service's labor market information. It costs a married couple with two children about $52,370 to $65,140 per year, which depends on the number of workers in the household.

The top three counties with the highest average annual wage are Oliver with about $81,570, McKenzie with $77,190 and Williams at $72,790.

The counties that are leading the wages have higher-paying or riskier jobs in mining or oil, said Danica Chaput, workforce center manager for Job Service North Dakota. She said employers now employ more people remotely or individuals who commute less than 90 minutes to work.

"It's (remote work) an opportunity for some industries and in some places to increase wages in order to continue to be competitive," she said.

Chaput said wages can increase because employers offer retention and recruiting bonuses. In some industries with larger increases in average weekly wage the bonuses can affect those numbers.

The only industries that showed a decrease in average weekly wage were: transportation and warehousing from $1,056 to $1,014 or minus 4%, professional and technical services from $1,091 to $1,057 or minus 3.1%, and arts, entertainment and recreation from $317 to $312 or minus 1.6%.

Chaput said average weekly wages could decrease because some people who were earning higher wages left the workforce and are being replaced with entry-level workers. The number of people employed decreased in the transportation and warehousing, professional and technical services and arts, entertainment and recreation industries.

The industries with the most employees in Stutsman County are in health care and social assistance, retail trade, manufacturing and local government. The largest employers are Anne Carlsen Center, North Dakota State Hospital, United Technologies Systems or UTC Aerospace Systems, the Jamestown Public School District and Jamestown Regional Medical Center.

In 2021, the industries with the highest average annual wage in Stutsman County include utilities at $112,570, finance and insurance at $77,520, wholesale trade at $72,000, federal government at $68,300 and manufacturing at $67,200. The average annual wage in Stutsman County was $48,700.