Minnesota Loses 7,200 Jobs in May

DEED Commissioner lauds the state’s growth, even as neighboring states outperform Minnesota.

unemployment

ST. PAUL, Minn. – In spite of the unemployment rate in Minnesota dropping slightly, the state actually lost 7,200 jobs in May, the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced Thursday.

This follows three months in which Minnesota employers added a total of 28,200 jobs. Over the past year the state has added a total of 48,068 jobs.

DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy did not address the losses in May, instead focusing on the past year.

“Minnesota is outpacing the nation in job growth, with all 11 major industrial sectors seeing gains over the past year,” Hardy said in a press release. “These and other indicators point to continued strength in the state labor market.”

In the past year, Minnesota’s unemployment rate has fallen 0.1 percent, from 3.8 in May 2016 to 3.7 in May 2017.

Meanwhile, the past twelve months have seen neighboring states fall at much higher rates, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Iowa’s unemployment rate was even with Minnesota’s in May 2016, it currently sits at 3.1 percent. Wisconsin’s rate started at 4.1 percent in May 2016 and has since shot by Minnesota’s to land at 3.1 percent.

North Dakota started at a much better position than Minnesota, but also performed much better, dropping from 3.3 to 2.5 percent unemployment. South Dakota was the only neighboring state to fare worse, rising from 2.8 to 2.9 percent unemployment.

The United States as a whole has also seen a marked improvement over the past year, though the unemployment rate for the nation is still behind Minnesota’s. In May 2016 the U.S. rate was 4.7 percent, whereas now it sits at 4.3 percent.

Of the 48,068 jobs added in Minnesota over the past year, 44,036 of them are concentrated in the state’s five metropolitan areas. The Minneapolis-St. Paul area far and away had the largest gains, adding 38,465 jobs in the last twelve months.

Anders Koskinen