Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic job market in North Dakota
Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.
The headline
Industry employment fell while average weekly industry wages rose
A data-driven view of the industries that employ Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in North Dakota.
Verified snapshot
Market at a Glance
Key changes in North Dakota’s weighted industry mix.
Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Published coverage: 896 represented establishments, 96.43% of the published industry mix.
Local research
What the data shows for forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in North Dakota
Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.
Employment and establishment counts moved apart
In the industries that employ this occupation, North Dakota's establishment count changed +2.6% year over year in January to March 2026, while employment changed -2.2%. The measures therefore point in opposite directions. These observations do not establish an explanation for that difference.
January to March 2026 · BLS QCEWIndustry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology
Employment trends
North Dakota industry employment over time
Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.
- North Dakota · 2026 Q1-2.2%
- U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark-1.5%
The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.
View every published value
| Quarter | North Dakota | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q2 | +0.7% | 100% |
| 2024 Q3 | -0.9% | 100% |
| 2024 Q4 | -1.7% | 100% |
| 2025 Q1 | -1.2% | 100% |
| 2025 Q2 | -2.1% | 100% |
| 2025 Q3 | -2.0% | 100% |
| 2025 Q4 | -0.7% | 100% |
| 2026 Q1 | -2.2% | 100% |
How to read this chart
State trend and national reference
The solid line follows North Dakota’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.
- Published quarters
- 8
- Earliest quarter
- 2024 Q2
- Latest quarter
- 2026 Q1
- U.S. benchmark
- -1.5%
Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.
Industry context
Where Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic Work
The occupation mix determines which North Dakota industries are weighted into this view.
| Industry group | Occupation mix | Employment change | Establishments | Avg. weekly industry wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 91.0% | -2.1% | 896 | $1,530 |
| Federal | 3.4% | -6.4% | 665 | $1,870 |
Which industries are growing?
No weighted industry published growth
In January to March 2026, none of the weighted North Dakota industries published a positive year-over-year employment change. Nothing is substituted in its place.
Current North Dakota context
Current North Dakota Market Signals
Statewide indicators for all occupations in North Dakota. They are not Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.
Statewide job postings
Indeed job postings · North Dakota
Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score
Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100
The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.
View values: Indeed postings index
| Observation date | Index (Feb 2020 = 100) |
|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2026 | 127.20 |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 126.60 |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 125.90 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 125.76 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | 125.77 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 127.24 |
| Sep 4, 2026 | 128.42 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 128.52 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 129.77 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 129.99 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 130.44 |
| Oct 9, 2026 | 131.57 |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 133.73 |
| Oct 23, 2026 | 132.70 |
This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.
Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.
Statewide layoff notices
Statewide layoff-notice filings
North Dakota statewide0 notices in this source
Notice dates from Aug 5, 2026 to Nov 2, 2026 (UTC), a rolling 90-calendar-day period.
What this means: No notices with notice dates in this period appear in this source for North Dakota. Other workforce changes may have happened without a notice in this source.
Notices describe planned workforce changes, not confirmed job losses. Notices may be amended or withdrawn. This statewide context is not occupation-specific and does not affect the Job Market Health score. North Dakota’s state tracking system also records smaller Rapid Response events that fall below federal WARN thresholds, so it is not a list of federal WARN filings only.
Job Service North Dakota About WARN data
Source last checked
Career context
Related occupations
Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.
Questions answered by this release
Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in North Dakota FAQs
Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.
Is employment growing for Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in North Dakota?
The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the North Dakota industries weighted to Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic changed -2.2% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with -1.5% nationwide.
Are wages for Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic rising in North Dakota?
QCEW does not publish pay for Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +7.8% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.
How complete is this North Dakota industry view?
The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 100% of the occupation’s industry mix.
Does this page show current Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic openings?
No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.
Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 100% · full evidence record
Methodology & Sources
Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.
- Occupation
- Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
- SOC code
- 51-4022
- State
- North Dakota
- QCEW release label
- QCEW 2026 Q1
- Data period
- 2026 Q1
- State industry employment, year over year
- -2.2%State data coverage 100%
- U.S. benchmark, year over year
- -1.5%
- Difference from U.S. benchmark
- -0.7 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
- Establishments, year over year
- +2.6%State data coverage 100%
- Average weekly industry wage, year over year
- +7.8%State data coverage 100%
- Industry mix vintage
- EP-2025-2035
- BLS publication date
- Aug 28, 2026
- Source verification
- Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
- Canonical record URL
- https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/forging-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic/north-dakota#evidence-record
- Derived by
- JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix
MethodologyBLS QCEWHow to citeQCEW state context release, 2026 Q1
Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.