As much as three percent of the Northern Marianas workforce was propped up by grants and payments from the US Department of the Interior last fiscal year.
A report on the impact the Office of Insular Affairs' money had on territories and the freely associated states in 2018 showed they supported nearly 800 employees and provided over $US17 million in employee compensation in the CNMI.
This amount also includes Compact of Free Association payments of $US2.3 million.
Compact payments are given to states and territories that host citizens from the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.