Starting a business on unemployment in North Dakota

Self-Employment Assistance in North Dakota

No. North Dakota doesn’t run Self-Employment Assistance, so unemployment is for people looking for work.

How self-employment affects your benefit

Each week you must report self-employment and your net self-employment income for the week you earned it; if you don't know the amount, estimate hours times the minimum wage you listed. It is then deducted like other earnings. Contacts made to get self-employment do not count as job contacts.

You can earn up to 60% of your weekly benefit without a reduction. Every dollar above that is deducted dollar-for-dollar, and nothing is paid once earnings equal your weekly benefit.

Your weekly job search

Unless you are returning to your employer or are a paid-up union member, make the number of job contacts Job Service assigns you each week, starting in the week you file and including the waiting week, and report them on your weekly certification. Record them on the Job Contacts form. Within 10 days of filing, create or update a resume on ND Workforce Connection.

Pontia keeps your job-search record for you and links to ND Workforce Connection, so your plan and your search run side by side.

Other help in North Dakota

• North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation (ND Health and Human Services): NDVR Policy OP 12-04 treats self-employment as equal to other competitive employment. Support depends on business plan viability, a Business Assessment Scale score and the client's financial resources.
• Medicaid: North Dakota expanded Medicaid, so the new work requirement applies to expansion adults: 80 hours or $580 net a month, and hours on your business count. Planned start: 1 January 2027.
• SBA Microloans of up to $50,000, and free advice from your local SBDC and SCORE mentors.
• On SSI or SSDI: PASS and the SSDI trial work period let you test a business.

Questions