Minnesota Adds Thousands of Jobs In May

(KNSI) – Minnesota’s job market was humming in May, with 6,600 jobs added, according to the establishment survey.

The job growth rate was twice the national average for the month, and that comes at a time when the unemployment rate for the state is 3.3% compared to the overall mark for the country of 4.2%. There were 2,236 more people looking for work, which isn’t uncommon as college and high school graduations push younger residents into the workforce.

Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Matt Varilek says, “May was another good month for Minnesota’s job market, with employment growth much stronger than the nation as a whole.” He went on to express relief over the passage of a budget in a special session that continues to fund efforts by the department to ensure Minnesotans have the skills to be successful in high-demand fields.

Job gains were primarily in the education and health services, trade, transportation, and utilities, and leisure and hospitality sectors.

Looking over the past year, DEED provides non-seasonally adjusted numbers for individual cities. St. Cloud added 341 jobs since May 2024. The local labor market is on par with Mankato and doing better than Duluth. Rochester continues to be far and away the best performer, though, as Mayo does a huge expansion in the downtown.

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