Even with the decrease in rigs drilling in the state, the overall job numbers in North Dakota remain strong.
Job Service North Dakota listed more than 22,000 job openings in the state in December.
That's down about 1,000 jobs from November, but up more than 3,000 from December 2013.
Job Service attributes the job loss from November to December to seasonal layoffs.
Phil Davis with Job Service says the reason the overall numbers aren't influenced by reduced drilling is because there are so many related job openings in the area.
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"With all the jobs here in North Dakota, even if they get laid off, we don't want them to leave because if they are getting laid off from a drilling site, they have transferable skills that we need here in the state of North Dakota. All across the state," says Davis.
Job service tracks job openings by county as well.
Burleigh and Morton combined have nearly 700 more job openings this year compared to last.
In the heart of oil country, net job openings number almost 300 more this year.
The job category with the most openings is office and administrative support. Second, is truck drivers.
