The short answer
North Dakota measures workforce program success on the six federal WIOA performance indicators, negotiated with the U.S. Department of Labor and reported by Job Service North Dakota for a single statewide workforce area. Job Service is the state workforce agency, the one-stop operator, and the administrator of the Title I programs, so the reporting chain is short: a provider's results go to Job Service, and Job Service reports to DOL. The state layer is the Workforce Development Council's strategic goals and the labor-market reporting Job Service publishes alongside program results.
What are the six WIOA indicators North Dakota reports?
- Employment rate, 2nd quarter after exit: the share of exiters employed in the second full calendar quarter after leaving the program, verified against state UI wage records.
- Employment rate, 4th quarter after exit: the same measure two quarters later.
- Median earnings, 2nd quarter after exit: the midpoint of quarterly earnings among those employed.
- Credential attainment rate: credentials earned during the program or within one year of exit, among participants in education or training.
- Measurable skill gains: documented progress toward a credential or employment during the program year.
- Effectiveness in serving employers: measured at the state level on retention with the same employer.
North Dakota negotiates a target for each indicator by funding stream (Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth). The six-indicator guide covers the denominators and the two indicators where programs most often lose credit they earned.
What North Dakota agreed to, and what it delivered
Every two years the state and the U.S. Department of Labor agree on a target for each indicator and each program. In Program Year 2024 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), North Dakota served 414 adults, 5 dislocated workers, and 246 youth in WIOA Title I programs. It met 11 of the 15 targets it reported. Here are the PY2024 targets, the PY2024 results, and the level North Dakota agreed to for PY2025.
| Indicator | PY2024 target | PY2024 actual | Result | PY2025 target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult (414 served, 315 exited) | ||||
| Employment rate, 2nd quarter after exit | 80.0% | 82.2% | Met | 80.0% |
| Employment rate, 4th quarter after exit | 74.8% | 79.9% | Met | 74.8% |
| Median earnings, 2nd quarter after exit | $10,000 | $9,843 | Missed | $10,000 |
| Credential attainment rate | 71.0% | 67.0% | Missed | 71.0% |
| Measurable skill gains | 62.6% | 78.4% | Met | 62.6% |
| Dislocated Worker (5 served, 6 exited) | ||||
| Employment rate, 2nd quarter after exit | 84.1% | 80.0% | Missed | 84.1% |
| Employment rate, 4th quarter after exit | 84.8% | 100.0% | Met | 84.8% |
| Median earnings, 2nd quarter after exit | $14,000 | $17,100 | Met | $14,000 |
| Credential attainment rate | 83.6% | 100.0% | Met | 83.6% |
| Measurable skill gains | 80.5% | 75.0% | Missed | 80.5% |
| Youth (246 served, 119 exited) | ||||
| Employment or education rate, 2nd quarter after exit | 82.3% | 90.8% | Met | 82.3% |
| Employment or education rate, 4th quarter after exit | 81.0% | 83.6% | Met | 81.0% |
| Median earnings, 2nd quarter after exit | $7,600 | $8,996 | Met | $7,600 |
| Credential attainment rate | 59.4% | 61.1% | Met | 59.4% |
| Measurable skill gains | 63.1% | 69.9% | Met | 63.1% |
Here are the three biggest gaps. Median earnings for adults came in at $9,843. The target was $10,000. Credential attainment for adults came in at 67.0 percent. The target was 71.0 percent. Employment in the second quarter after exit for dislocated workers came in at 80.0 percent. The target was 84.1 percent. Federal rules give some room. A program passes if its average across the indicators reaches 90 percent of the targets. It also has to keep every single indicator above 50 percent of its level two years in a row.
What does North Dakota add on top of the federal indicators?
- A single statewide area run by Job Service. Job Service North Dakota operates the Job Service offices statewide, administers Title I, and runs the UI system whose wage records verify the employment indicators. One agency holds both the program data and the wage data.
- The Workforce Development Council. The state board sets the strategic goals the annual narrative reports against, with an emphasis on the state's persistent labor shortage: filling open positions is a state priority in a way it is not in higher-unemployment states.
- Labor market reporting. Job Service's Labor Market Information unit publishes the employment, wage, and openings data that the federal indicators are read against.
What does this mean for a North Dakota program or provider?
Your program's success is judged on the federal layer at the state's negotiated levels, read directly by Job Service. In a tight labor market the employment indicators tend to run high, which moves the pressure to credential attainment and measurable skill gains, the two indicators that depend entirely on what the program documents and when. A skill gain recorded July 1 counts for the next program year; a credential earned 13 months after exit counts for nobody.
Programs that track the windows per cohort are the ones whose reported results match what they produced. The deadline calculator shows when each window closes for a given cohort.