Statewide Unemployment Numbers Drop Again

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says the unemployment rate for the state dropped again in February.

Following strong gains in the hospitality and leisure sector and government, education, and health services, the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is now 4.3%, down from 4.5% in January.

DEED Commissioner Steve Grove says the state is moving in the right direction, but “we still have a lot of runway ahead for job growth.” Citing the uneven effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, he says, “many unemployed Minnesotans will need to consider new career opportunities from the ones they left.”

The department is calling those who are unemployed to make them aware of training opportunities and prepare for in-demand jobs.

According to a press release from DEED, Minnesota lost 416,300 jobs from February through April 2020 and since April has gained 205,100 jobs or 49.3% of the jobs lost on a seasonally adjusted basis. The private sector has regained 50.7% of the jobs lost.

The St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is at 5.6% for January, which is when the most recent data was available. That is a jump of almost 1% from December and 1.5% higher than November. The highest unemployment rate in the St. Cloud MSA in the last year was recorded in May of 2020 at 8.8%, which is the highest it had been since 2011.

The department says Minnesota gained 13,900 jobs, up 0.5%, in February on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is 200 jobs short of the peak pandemic recovery employment in October 2020. The private sector gained 11,000 jobs in February, up 0.5% over the month, bringing private sector employment 300 jobs above peak pandemic employment reached in October.

The U.S. gained 379,000 jobs, up 0.3% over the month, in February on a seasonally adjusted basis.

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