New Data to Describe Minnesota's Workforce
By Rachel Vilsack
November 2011
Introduction
Numbers tell a story. Compare one number to another number and you see a trend. Trends can show us that something is increasing or decreasing, growing or declining. but we frequently have to dig deeply into the numbers for a fuller picture. For example, the issue of racial employment [1] surfaced recently in Minnesota with the news that the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area had the second largest difference in unemployment rates between Whites and Blacks or African Americans[2] This statistic is important, and digging deeper into the numbers can show us details that may help us focus on possible improvements.
For labor market analysts the ability to describe our workforce — in all its various forms — enriches the story. New data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Local Employment–Household Dynamics (LEHD) program tell a more complete story about workers in Minnesota.
Understanding the Data
The U.S. Census Bureau’s LEHD program is a federal-state partnership to integrate data for increased localized labor market analysis[3] One of the measures created from this joint venture is Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI), which are a set of economic indicators that better illuminate key economic factors (employment, job creation, wages) and labor market attachment (new hires, separations, turnover) for local geographies using a variety of detailed worker attributes including age and gender. To create this rich data set, QWI are built on wage records in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system and linked to the demographic and social characteristics of households as collected by Census Bureau surveys and censuses[4]
This melding of data allows researchers to delve deeper into the composition of a workforce, identifying, for instance, the age distribution of the manufacturing workforce in Anoka County. In 2011 the data set expanded to include workers’ race, ethnicity, and educational attainment characteristics for the data elements listed above.
Minnesota’s Employment Composition by Race and Ethnicity
These new data from the Census Bureau allow us to explore the racial and ethnic composition of Minnesota’s workforce by industry and county. Table 1 displays the number of Minnesota workers by seven categories of race and ethnicity. In 2010, 89.8 percent of workers in Minnesota were white, 4.4 percent were Black or African American, 3.7 percent were Asian, and 3.6 percent were Hispanic or Latino. Just 1 percent of Minnesota workers were American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander.
Table 1
|
Minnesota Employment by Race and Ethnicity, 2010
|
|
|
Employment
|
Percent of
Employment
|
|
White (alone)
|
2,266,142
|
89.8%
|
|
Black or African American (alone)
|
110,156
|
4.4%
|
|
Asian (alone)
|
94,120
|
3.7%
|
|
American Indian or Alaska Native (alone)
|
21,618
|
0.9%
|
|
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (alone)
|
2,271
|
0.1%
|
|
More than One Race
|
28,831
|
1.1%
|
|
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
|
91,621
|
3.6%
|
|
Total
|
2,523,230
|
|
|
Note: Totals may exceed 100 percent, as race and ethnicity are separate categories.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI).
|
Figure 1 highlights the percent of non-white, Hispanic, or Latino workers by industry in Minnesota. In total, 13.0 percent of Minnesota workers were non-white, Hispanic, or Latino. Five industries had a higher than average concentration of minority employment in 2010: administrative and support services (25.5 percent), accommodation and food services (19.7 percent), manufacturing (16.7 percent), health care and social assistance (16.1 percent), and agriculture (15.4 percent). Mining (2.1 percent), construction (5.5 percent), and utilities (6.3 percent) had the lowest percentage of non-white, Hispanic, or Latino workers in 2010.
In 2010, 16.9 percent of Minnesota’s population was non-white, Hispanic, or Latino according to the Census. Only two industries in Minnesota — administrative and support services and accommodation and food services — had a minority workforce composition above 16.9 percent. Two other industries — manufacturing and health care and social assistance — were within one percentage point of Minnesota’s minority population concentration.
The employment distribution of each race or ethnic category across industry is shown in Table 2. Nearly one in three Black or African American workers in Minnesota were employed in the health care and social assistance sector in 2010. This industry also employed the largest percentage of American Indian or Alaska Native workers in Minnesota. The manufacturing sector employed one in five Asian workers in Minnesota and one in five Hispanic or Latino workers.
Table 2
|
Industry Distribution of Minnesota Workers by Race and Ethnicity, 2010
|
| |
White (alone)
|
Black or African American (alone)
|
Asian (alone)
|
American Indian or Alaska
Native (alone)
|
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (alone)
|
More than One Race
|
Hispanic or Latino
(any race)
|
|
Agriculture
|
0.7%
|
0.3%
|
0.4%
|
0.7%
|
1.5%
|
0.6%
|
2.1%
|
|
Mining
|
0.2%
|
0.0%
|
0.0%
|
0.1%
|
N/A
|
0.1%
|
0.0%
|
|
Utilities
|
0.6%
|
0.4%
|
0.2%
|
0.4%
|
0.3%
|
0.4%
|
0.2%
|
|
Construction
|
4.1%
|
1.2%
|
0.7%
|
3.3%
|
2.5%
|
2.6%
|
2.4%
|
|
Manufacturing
|
11.3%
|
8.4%
|
19.9%
|
7.4%
|
13.2%
|
9.1%
|
20.3%
|
|
Wholesale Trade
|
5.2%
|
2.0%
|
3.4%
|
2.2%
|
3.6%
|
3.1%
|
3.4%
|
|
Retail Trade
|
11.1%
|
9.4%
|
8.1%
|
8.4%
|
10.0%
|
12.6%
|
8.9%
|
|
Transportation and Warehousing
|
2.7%
|
3.1%
|
1.4%
|
2.0%
|
2.7%
|
2.2%
|
1.9%
|
|
Information
|
2.2%
|
1.7%
|
2.3%
|
1.1%
|
1.5%
|
2.0%
|
1.3%
|
|
Finance and Insurance
|
5.4%
|
3.9%
|
5.6%
|
1.8%
|
3.4%
|
4.2%
|
2.6%
|
|
Real Estate
|
1.6%
|
1.9%
|
1.3%
|
1.7%
|
1.4%
|
1.6%
|
1.3%
|
|
Professional and Technical Services
|
5.0%
|
2.1%
|
7.0%
|
2.2%
|
3.9%
|
3.9%
|
2.6%
|
|
Management of Companies
|
3.8%
|
3.1%
|
3.9%
|
1.5%
|
2.3%
|
3.0%
|
2.6%
|
|
Administrative and Support Services
|
4.3%
|
10.2%
|
7.0%
|
6.9%
|
10.7%
|
7.3%
|
11.9%
|
|
Educational Services
|
9.2%
|
5.6%
|
6.1%
|
6.1%
|
5.3%
|
6.5%
|
4.6%
|
|
Health Care and Social Assistance
|
15.4%
|
30.9%
|
16.5%
|
16.6%
|
14.9%
|
16.7%
|
11.5%
|
|
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
|
1.8%
|
1.1%
|
0.9%
|
9.1%
|
1.7%
|
2.6%
|
1.7%
|
|
Accommodation and Food Services
|
7.3%
|
9.6%
|
10.4%
|
10.7%
|
15.2%
|
14.4%
|
14.9%
|
|
Other Services
|
3.4%
|
2.7%
|
3.0%
|
2.8%
|
3.4%
|
3.6%
|
3.3%
|
|
Public Administration
|
4.5%
|
2.3%
|
2.0%
|
14.8%
|
2.1%
|
3.5%
|
2.4%
|
|
N/A = Data are not available
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI).
|
County Snapshot of Minority Employment Concentrations
Overall only 13.0 percent of Minnesota employment is held by non-white, Hispanic, or Latino workers. Ten Minnesota counties had a higher percentage of minority workers (see Map 1). Over one in three workers in Mahnomen County was non-white, Hispanic, or Latino, as were one in four workers in Nobles County, and one in five workers in Watonwan County. In the Twin Cities metro Ramsey (18.4 percent), Hennepin (18.0 percent), and Dakota (13.5 percent) also had above average concentrations of minority workers.
Map 2 compares the minority employment concentration to minority population concentration. Counties with a ratio above 100 percent have a larger minority employment concentration than population. For example, 9.5 percent of workers in Dodge County are non-white, Hispanic, or Latino, compared to only 6.5 percent of the population. Overall, 25 counties had a larger concentration of minority workers compared to minority population. Redwood, Beltrami, and Swift counties had the lowest concentrations of minority workers compared to minority population. Minorities accounted for 12.1 percent of Redwood County’s population but only 4.0 percent of the workers there.
One important note to keep in mind is that labor force statistics usually consider the population 16 years of age and older. Counts used in this analysis include the entire population as there was insufficient data to produce complete counts of the non-white, Hispanic, or Latino population age 16 and over by county. Minority populations are younger, on average, than the white population. Worker-to-population ratios might appear different for some counties if population counts were reduced to include only individuals age 16 and over.
This analysis of industry and geographic distributions of Minnesota workers by race and ethnicity may add to the more recently reported statistics on employment disparities in Minnesota. For example, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area had the second largest difference in unemployment rates between Whites and Blacks or African [5] of metro areas around the country. In 2010 the unemployment rate for Black or African Americans (22.0 percent) exceeded that of White (6.4 percent) residents in Minnesota. While these statistics may not be surprising to communities of color, they do warrant further exploration and more attention by researchers and policymakers.
These trends may not be new to communities of color or the data surprising to service providers who assist those in job transition. For researchers and policymakers these statistics might also require the exploration of the employment patterns of Minnesota workers like those offered by the QWI data.
Minnesota’s Employment Composition by Educational Attainment
There are many ways to look at the educational composition of Minnesota residents. Annual American Community Survey data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau track educational attainment of residents, typically displayed for the adult population age 25 and up. Minnesota ranked second among all states in the percent of residents age 25 and over with a high school diploma or above (91.8 percent) and 11th in the percent of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher (31.8 percent) in 2010[6]
The QWI tabulations include a measurement for the educational attainment of workers age 30 or older in Minnesota. A higher age threshold is included because “educational attainment is dynamic for younger populations.[7]
Table 3 provides a breakdown of the educational attainment of Minnesota workers age 30 or over by industry sector. In all but two sectors, more than half of all workers age 30 or older in Minnesota had some form of post-secondary training in 2010. Agriculture (46.6 percent) and accommodation and food services (48.7 percent) had the lowest percentage of workers with no postsecondary education or training. These industries also had the highest percentage of workers without a high school diploma.
Alternatively, six industries had 40 percent or more of their workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher[8] The finance and insurance and the management of companies sectors both had 49.7 percent of their workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Table 3
|
Industry Sector Employment by Educational Level in Minnesota
|
| |
Less than High School
|
High School
or Equivalent
|
Some College or Associate’s Degree
|
Bachelor’s Degree or Higher
|
Percent of Workers with Postsecondary Training
|
|
Agriculture
|
16.2%
|
37.1%
|
31.7%
|
15.0%
|
46.6%
|
|
Mining
|
8.2%
|
39.7%
|
37.9%
|
14.2%
|
52.1%
|
|
Utilities
|
3.3%
|
19.9%
|
33.5%
|
43.4%
|
76.9%
|
|
Construction
|
10.1%
|
36.6%
|
35.4%
|
18.0%
|
53.3%
|
|
Manufacturing
|
9.6%
|
32.5%
|
34.4%
|
23.6%
|
57.9%
|
|
Wholesale Trade
|
6.6%
|
27.9%
|
34.9%
|
30.6%
|
65.6%
|
|
Retail Trade
|
10.0%
|
36.5%
|
34.7%
|
18.9%
|
53.6%
|
|
Transportation and Warehousing
|
9.5%
|
36.0%
|
34.8%
|
19.7%
|
54.6%
|
|
Information
|
4.2%
|
19.1%
|
30.7%
|
46.0%
|
76.7%
|
|
Finance and Insurance
|
3.1%
|
17.4%
|
29.7%
|
49.7%
|
79.5%
|
|
Real Estate
|
7.1%
|
26.1%
|
33.4%
|
33.4%
|
66.8%
|
|
Professional and Technical Services
|
4.0%
|
17.3%
|
29.0%
|
49.7%
|
78.7%
|
|
Management of Companies
|
4.6%
|
21.3%
|
31.1%
|
43.0%
|
74.1%
|
|
Administration and Support Services
|
12.6%
|
30.3%
|
33.3%
|
23.8%
|
57.1%
|
|
Educational Services
|
3.8%
|
19.7%
|
29.8%
|
46.6%
|
76.5%
|
|
Health Care and Social Assistance
|
6.2%
|
23.8%
|
38.8%
|
31.2%
|
70.0%
|
|
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
|
9.5%
|
31.4%
|
34.6%
|
24.5%
|
59.1%
|
|
Accommodation and Food Services
|
15.9%
|
35.4%
|
32.3%
|
16.4%
|
48.7%
|
|
Other Services
|
9.6%
|
31.0%
|
35.7%
|
23.7%
|
59.4%
|
|
Public Administration
|
4.8%
|
23.5%
|
38.3%
|
33.4%
|
71.7%
|
|
All Industries
|
7.5%
|
27.2%
|
34.0%
|
31.2%
|
65.3%
|
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI).
|
Conclusion
This article highlights only some of the new information available to describe Minnesota workers. For more information on LEHD and QWI from the U.S. Census Bureau, visit http://lehd.did.census.gov and find data to tell your own story.
1]Disparities in unemployment rates among race and ethnic groups in Minnesota will be the topic of a future article.
[2]Economic Policy Institute. “High Black Unemployment Widespread Across Nation’s Metropolitan Areas,” October 3, 2011.
http://w3.epi-data.org/temp2011/IB315_R2_LE-final.pdf
[3]Minnesota was an early partner in this program.
[4]As with most programs, there are limitations to these data. Data do not include military, self-employed, or federal workers.
[5]Economic Policy Institute. “High Black Unemployment Widespread Across Nation’s Metropolitan Areas,” October 3, 2011.
http://w3.epi-data.org/temp2011/IB315_R2_LE-final.pdf
[6]For a quick guide to how Minnesota ranks among states in a variety of social, economic, and business characteristics, visit
www.CompareMN.com
[7]Definition provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics.
[8]These six industries include: finance and insurance, professional and technical services, educational services, information, utilities, and management of companies.
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