North Dakota comes to Michigan, looking for workers

(NEWSCHANNEL 3) - The last week of may saw a little light at the end of the economic tunnel.

The number of people filing for unemployment last week unexpectedly dropped. There were 13,000 fewer claims last week than the week before. Those claims fell to a seasonally-adjusted 623,000.

Auto-related layoffs had pushed the numbers higher in recent weeks, but no auto companies announced any cuts last week.

The number of those still on unemployment, rose to almost seven million.

Michigan still leads the nation in unemployment at almost 13 percent. To the west of us, those numbers are much lower. In North Dakota, unemployment sits at only four percent. That's a state looking for bodies to fill vacant jobs, and on Thursday companies from North Dakota visited West Michigan to woo our unemployed.

People having trouble finding a job, finding that the normal avenues of help just aren't working may want to consider the great plains and wide open spaces of North Dakota.

North Dakota is interested in Michigan's workforce, and Ashley Alderson was tasked with bringing that workforce to North Dakota.

"Our state had a billion dollar surplus this year, so they're wanting us to work and bring people back to our state," said Alderson.

One of the problems is that many people from Michigan have never been to North Dakota and know little about the state.

"Kind of drove underneath them and around them to get to California and Texas," said Dan Kuk, who has been out of work for eight months.

While the state itself is massive, its population is less than 650,000, roughly the same number of jobs that Michigan has lost.

Alderson is from Bowman, North Dakota, a bustling metropolis of 2,000 people, but unemployment isn't a problem there.

"Our county is about 3.5 unemployment," said Alderson, "state-wide is under five percent."

And, with 16,000 job opening is North Dakota, there are a lot of options.

"Pretty much anything and everything," said Alderson. "If you're a mechanic, if you're a contractor, if you build homes, if you can go to work on a farm, if you can go to work on an oil field, and especially if you work in health-care we'll take you in a heart-beat."