Labor Market Index

The Minnesota Index increased for the eighth straight month advancing 0.5 percent in May.  May’s jump lifted the index to 158.5 as a dip in the unemployment rate and increases in wage and salary employment and disbursements boosted the index.  The fourth component, average weekly manufacturing hours, slipped slightly in May limiting the index’s climb.

The index, a monthly coincident measure of the state’s economy, bottomed out last September and has rebounded 2.3 percent over the last eight months after dropping 5.4 percent during the recession.  The U.S. index also advanced in May increasing for the fifth consecutive month.  The U.S. index has climbed 1.6 percent since turning around in October after having plunged 6.5 percent over the course of the recession.

See the Feature article from the Minnesota Employment Review, May 2010, for more information on the Minnesota Index.

Source: Minnesota Employment Review, DEED.