September 2, 2003

 

Number of Businesses Steady, but Number of Employees Rising in N.D.

The number of North Dakota businesses remained about the same between 2000 and 2001, according to the recent Economic Brief released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University.

The number of businesses in North Dakota totaled 20,206 in 2001, rising less than half a percent from 20,139 establishments in 2000. "The number of businesses in the state has remained relatively stable since the early 1990s. In contrast, the number of employees has continued to rise," said Richard Rathge, director of the State Data Center. "Unfortunately, we do not have detailed data that will allow us to determine how much of the employee growth is due to business expansion and how much is due to increased part-time work or multiple job holders. However, the state is exploring a partnership with the Census Bureau called the Local Employment Dynamics Program that will allow us to effectively track this by industrial sector."

Private sector employment for the state, as of March 2001, was 257,335 compared with 255,178 in March 2000. Annual payroll per employee was $25,012, up 5.4 percent from $23,737 the year before, while annual total payroll for the state was $6.4 billion, up 6.3 percent from $6.1 billion in 2000.

While the majority of businesses in North Dakota are small establishments with fewer than five employees, businesses with 10 employees or more are growing at a much faster pace. In 1992, there were 10.8 employees per business. This ratio increased to 12.7 in 2001.

The services sector employed the largest portion of the state’s private workforce at 41.3 percent, with an average annual payroll per employee of $20,729.

Utah and Wyoming reported the largest percentage gains in businesses between 2000 and 2001 (2.7 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively). Nineteen states reported losses in businesses between 2000 and 2001.

###

Source: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard.rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

Click here for a GIF version of this graphic. (33 Kb map, text and graph)

Click here for a GIF version of this graphic. (60 Kb table)

Click here for a PDF file of both pages of this graphic. (450 Kb)