Minnesota Records Lowest Unemployment Rate in Recorded History

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 2.2%.

That is the lowest level since unemployment data collection began in 1976.

DEED says the unemployment rate decreased in spite of an influx of new job seekers. 11,900 positions were filled in April, with the private sector contributing 10,600 of those. This continues a positive trend for the seventh month. The state’s labor force participation rate went up 0.2% to 68.3%. That compares to a decrease at the national level

Manufacturing, finance, leisure and hospitality, and government were all up. Mining and logging, construction, trade, transportation, and utilities saw losses.

In the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area, the over the year employment change is 2.2% or a gain of 2,306 jobs.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, since April 2020, Minnesota has gained back 79% of the jobs lost due to the pandemic. The private sector has regained 83% of the jobs lost.

Officials with DEED say wages are not currently keeping up with inflation. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose 70 cents, up 2.2%, in Minnesota. Over two years, average hourly earnings in the state increased 79 cents or 2.4%. The CPI inflation index for all urban consumers rose 8.3% over the year in April and 12.8% over two years.

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