State Unemployment Rate Ticks Up to 3% in July

(KNSI) – Minnesota’s unemployment rate is up to 3%, rising by 0.1% in July.

People are pouring back into the labor force, with 3,935 more people looking for work, but the state lost jobs again, shedding 400 positions last month. Fewer jobs and more people actively searching for them increased the unemployment rate.

There is still room for the trend to continue. The state’s labor force participation rate is 68.5%, significantly less than the 69.9% seen in February 2020.

St. Cloud is one of the hardest hit areas. The Department of Employment and Economic Development tracks the one-year change for various cities. Since July 2022, the St. Cloud region added only 1,148 jobs, a change of 1.1%. That ties Fargo-Moorhead for the lowest change. The Twin Cities are up 1.8%, Duluth is at 2.5%, Rochester registered an increase of 2.8%, and Mankato saw 6.9% job growth. The state average was 2.1%.

In July, six supersectors lost jobs, while four were positive. The industries nearly offset each other as a whole. The sectors shedding the most jobs were leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Mining and logging led to a percentage of jobs lost.

The primary hirers were trade, transportation, utilities, education, and health services.

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