Minnesota’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.4 percent in August, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). This is compared to the July unemployment rate of 7.6 percent. The national unemployment rate also declined from 10.2 percent in July to 8.4 percent in August.
Year-over-year, the state has lost 196,363 private sector jobs, or 7.5 percent, since August 2019.
“We are continuing to see steady job growth and a decline in unemployment in Minnesota, but it will take some time to replace jobs lost during the pandemic,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. “While job growth in Minnesota was stronger in August than in July, growth continues to be uneven across industries and occupations.”
Construction in Minnesota recorded an employment decline with a 5.9 percent employment loss, or 8,504 jobs, since August 2019. All other industries also saw declines in their workforce year-over-year. Leisure & Hospitality continues to see largest decline with a 26.6 percent drop since last year. The Logging and Mining industry has also recorded repeated declines; their industry saw a 17.2 percent loss in jobs since last year.
In the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, employment growth rates were all down again: Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA (down 7.4%), Rochester MSA (down 6.6%), St. Cloud MSA (down 3.1%), Duluth-Superior MSA (down 8.2%), and Mankato MSA (down 3.6%).
