Minnesota Loses Jobs In March But Unemployment Rate Declines

(KNSI) – Minnesota businesses are trimming payrolls.

In March, the private sector shed 6,100 jobs in the state. Even when considering government hiring, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says 5,700 positions were lost last month.

The results were at odds with the country as a whole. The United States registered a gain of 236,000 jobs. DEED says the unemployment rate actually declined by 0.2% in Minnesota to 2.8%, while the labor force participation rate held steady. Commissioner Kevin McKinnon says it “may seem like a bit of a disconnect, [but] the data trends will even out over time.”

There are some bright spots, especially locally. St. Cloud continues to perform well. DEED says the metro area has seen 3,287 people hired since March 2022, a 3.2% change. Payrolls are growing roughly twice as fast in central Minnesota as compared to the Twin Cities and Duluth.

The agency says another encouraging sign is that wage growth has nearly caught up to the rate of inflation. When real wages are negative that means people are losing purchasing power, which stresses budgets for lower-income and middle class families.

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