ST. PAUL – Employment in Minnesota fell by 1,500 jobs in August, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
The agency said the state has added 40,629 jobs over the past year, a gain of 1.4%, U.S. job growth in the past 12 months was 1.7%.
The state’s seasonally adjusted employment rate in August climbed 0.1% from the previous month to 4%. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.9%.
“Job growth over the past year indicates the Minnesota economy is expanding at a healthy pace,” said DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy. “Seven of the state’s 11 major industrial sectors added jobs in the last 12 months, and other economic measures point to continued growth.”
Trade, transportation and utilities led all sectors in August with 2,300 new jobs. Other sectors gaining jobs were education and health services (up 700), government (up 600) and information (up 500). Logging and mining held steady.
The following industries lost jobs in August: construction (down 1,900), other services (down 1,100), manufacturing (down 1,000), financial activities (down 700), leisure and hospitality (down 700), and professional and business services (down 200).
Over the past year, education and health services led all sectors with 21,590 new jobs. Leisure and hospitality added 9,039 jobs, followed by trade, transportation and utilities (up 5,677), construction (up 5,087), financial activities (up 1,728), professional and business services (up 1,217), and government (up 327).
The following sectors lost jobs in the past 12 months: information (down 2,174), logging and mining (down 1,147), manufacturing (down 511) and other services (down 204).
In the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, the following regions gained jobs in the past 12 months: Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA (up 1.8%), Rochester MSA (up 3%), St. Cloud MSA (up 3%), Mankato MSA (up 0.6%) and Duluth-Superior MSA (up 0.5%).
DEED has added a section to its website that examines the unemployment rate by demographics (race, age and gender) and looks at alternative measures of unemployment. Go here for details.
DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and our services, visit the DEED website or follow DEED on Twitter.