What changed • Who it affects • Why it matters
Statewide Business Pulse
▲ Moving: Friday’s national jobs report came in far stronger than expected. U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs in August, versus forecasts near 55,000, and unemployment held at 4.1%. That is good economic news, but it also increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its September meeting.
▬ Stable: North Dakota employers continue looking for ways to widen the workforce pool. Commerce’s September 3 Global Talent Summit focused specifically on recruiting entry-level workers, skilled trades and advanced-degree workers from outside the United States, along with the practical immigration and retention issues employers face.
▼ Down / Under Pressure: Fuel is becoming a business-cost problem again. The national average gasoline price reached roughly $4.03 per gallon over Labor Day weekend, while diesel has climbed even more sharply. Agriculture, construction, trucking, service businesses and companies operating vehicle fleets are particularly exposed.
Watch: North Dakota’s special session is finished, but implementation now begins. HB 1628 creates the new regulated framework for natural-leaf kratom, while the Attorney General must develop rules before legal sales can resume. For the broader business community, the more important next step may be watching whether issues raised but unresolved during the session—including confidentiality around industrial development and safeguards for public-private projects—return during interim work or the 2027 session.
Today’s Signals
1. Fuel / Operating Costs: Diesel is becoming a much bigger business issue than the price at the gas pump
What changed
U.S. diesel prices reached approximately $5.85 per gallon late last week, a record high, as global crude and refined-product supplies tightened.
Gasoline also entered Labor Day weekend at record holiday levels, with the national average above $4 per gallon.
The diesel number deserves particular attention from North Dakota businesses because diesel sits underneath a much larger share of the economy than most consumers see directly.
It moves freight. It runs farm equipment, construction machinery and many commercial fleets. Higher diesel prices also work their way into delivery charges and the cost of goods transported into North Dakota.
Who it affects
Farmers and ranchers, trucking and logistics companies, contractors, construction businesses, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, delivery businesses and virtually any company operating diesel vehicles or equipment.
Why it matters
A business doesn’t have to own a semi to pay more for diesel.
Suppliers and freight companies eventually have to absorb the increase or pass some of it forward.
For businesses quoting jobs, hauling materials or making regular deliveries, this is a good time to check whether fuel assumptions built into pricing still match current costs.
For agriculture, the timing is particularly difficult because fuel costs are rising as harvest activity increases.
Source links:
Reuters — Record Labor Day fuel prices
Associated Press — Record diesel prices and transportation costs
2. Credit / Interest Rates: A strong jobs report may make cheaper borrowing less likely
What changed
Friday’s employment report surprised substantially to the upside.
The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, while unemployment remained at 4.1%. June and July employment numbers were also revised upward by a combined 55,000 jobs.
Financial markets reacted quickly.
Expectations for a Federal Reserve rate increase at its September 15–16 meeting rose after the report, and Treasury yields moved higher.
Who it affects
Businesses carrying variable-rate debt, companies considering equipment or real-estate purchases, farmers financing operating expenses, entrepreneurs seeking startup capital and businesses using commercial lines of credit.
Why it matters
This is one of those cases where good economic news can complicate a business decision.
Strong hiring reduces concern about an economic slowdown. But it also gives the Federal Reserve more room to keep interest rates elevated—or raise them—while dealing with inflation.
No rate decision has been made.
For a North Dakota business considering a major financed purchase, however, the assumption that borrowing costs are about to fall deserves another look.
The next important piece is inflation data, followed by the Fed’s September 15–16 meeting.
Source links:
Reuters — August employment report and interest-rate implications
Reuters — Markets react to stronger U.S. jobs report
3. Workforce: North Dakota is getting more deliberate about recruiting workers from outside the U.S.
What changed
North Dakota Commerce held its Global Talent Summit September 3 with a notably practical employer focus.
Sessions addressed recruiting entry-level workers and skilled trades, attracting advanced-degree professionals, employment-based immigration and retaining workers after they arrive.
Commerce is treating international recruitment as one piece of the state’s broader workforce strategy rather than a stand-alone immigration program.
The state is also offering employers access to resources including its Global Talent Office and EnGen, an English-language training platform intended to help workers develop English skills for in-demand jobs.
Who it affects
Manufacturers, contractors, health-care employers, hospitality businesses, agriculture and food processors, skilled-trades employers and businesses that have been unable to fill positions locally.
Why it matters
North Dakota’s workforce shortage isn’t going to be solved through one recruiting strategy.
For smaller employers, international hiring can also look too complicated to seriously consider because immigration rules, sponsorship requirements and paperwork aren’t familiar territory.
The significance here is that the state is beginning to build employer-facing infrastructure around that option.
That doesn’t make international recruiting appropriate for every business. It does mean an employer repeatedly unable to fill a skilled or hard-to-recruit position has another workforce channel worth understanding before simply concluding that the worker doesn’t exist.
Source links:
North Dakota Commerce — Global Talent Summit
North Dakota Commerce — Workforce programs and resources
4. Agriculture: Sunflowers offer a brighter signal in an otherwise difficult farm economy
What changed
U.S. sunflower acreage increased 5% in 2026 to approximately 1.35 million acres, with North Dakota and South Dakota driving much of the increase.
Oil-type sunflower acreage rose 3%, while tight supplies entering harvest are supporting prices and could create opportunities for early-harvest premiums.
North Dakota growers had been expected to plant approximately 640,000 sunflower acres this year, up from 575,000 in 2025.
That contrasts with weaker conditions in several other crops. USDA’s August forecast placed North Dakota among the states expected to record the country’s lowest soybean yields this fall.
Who it affects
Sunflower growers, elevators, processors, trucking companies, crop-input suppliers, agricultural lenders and businesses serving farm communities.
Why it matters
The North Dakota farm economy shouldn’t be described with a single arrow.
Margins remain difficult across much of agriculture, but individual commodities can move differently.
Sunflowers currently have two things working in their favor: more acreage and relatively tight existing stocks.
That doesn’t erase broader farm-income pressure, but it can matter considerably to individual producers—and to the elevators, processors and Main Street businesses in communities where those acres are concentrated.
Source links:
Farm Progress — Sunflower acreage and market conditions
Agriculture.com — USDA North Dakota soybean outlook
5. Entrepreneurs / Technology: North Dakota’s next LIFT funding round is approaching
What changed
The Legacy Investment for Technology Loan Fund committee meets September 9 to review applications from its most recent round.
More importantly for businesses that missed that window, the next application period opens October 5, with applications due November 9.
LIFT provides low-interest debt financing for businesses commercializing intellectual property in North Dakota. Eligible areas include agriculture technology, advanced computing, autonomous systems, energy, health care, value-added agriculture and value-added energy.
Funds can be used for qualifying working-capital expenses connected to applied research, experimentation and operational testing.
Who it affects
North Dakota startups, technology companies, inventors, manufacturers commercializing new products and established businesses developing technology that fits the program.
Why it matters
This isn’t a general small-business loan program.
But for the right North Dakota company, it fills an awkward financing gap: the period between developing an idea and proving that it works commercially.
Businesses interested in the October round have roughly a month before applications reopen. That’s enough time to determine whether a project actually qualifies and begin assembling the financial and commercialization information required rather than discovering the program shortly before the deadline.
Source link:
North Dakota Commerce — Legacy Investment for Technology Loan Fund
Risk / Opportunity
Risk: Fuel and borrowing costs are moving in the wrong direction at the same time. Higher diesel prices hit operating expenses directly and indirectly through freight, while Friday’s employment report reduced confidence that lower interest rates are immediately ahead. Businesses preparing fall budgets or major purchases should update both assumptions.
Opportunity: Workforce and financing resources are expanding beyond the usual channels. North Dakota is building more employer support around international recruiting, while the next LIFT application round gives qualifying technology and value-added businesses another financing window beginning October 5.
Watch this week: Wednesday’s LIFT committee meeting and the approaching Federal Reserve decision both deserve attention for different reasons—one for businesses trying to finance innovation and the other for virtually anyone borrowing money.