Nov. 18 - State Gains 14,100 Jobs in October

ST. PAUL – Minnesota employers added 14,100 jobs in October, according to figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

Over the past 12 months, Minnesota has gained 42,100 jobs at a growth rate of 1.6 percent. This figure includes a revision to September’s job count, when 4,200 jobs were lost instead of the 9,900 that were initially reported.

The state unemployment rate climbed 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 7.1 percent. The Minnesota unemployment rate remained well below the U.S. rate, which held steady at 9.6 percent in October.

“Minnesota employers have added jobs at triple the pace of the U.S. rate in the past year, and lead the national rate of growth in eight of 11 industry sectors,” said DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy. “I am encouraged by these signs indicating that Minnesota is recovering from the economic downturn.”

Commissioner McElroy also noted that employment in the temporary help sector, a leading indicator, continues to grow and has returned to pre-recession levels.

Professional and business services led all sectors in October, adding 6,500 jobs. Other gains occurred in transportation and utilities (up 3,900), other services (up 2,900), leisure and hospitality (up 2,300), education and health services (up 2,000), government (up 500), financial activities (up 300), mining and logging (up 200), and information (up 100).

The construction and manufacturing sectors each lost 2,300 jobs in October.

Over the past year, job gains have occurred in education and health services (up 14,400), leisure and hospitality (up 13,000), professional and business services (up 10,000), manufacturing (up 8,800), trade, transportation and utilities (up 7,800), information (up 2,100), and logging and mining (up 500).

Job losses have occurred in the past 12 months in construction (down 6,500), government (down 4,700), other services (down 2,300) and financial activities (down 800).

In the state Metropolitan Statistical Areas, job gains occurred in the past year in the Rochester MSA (up 1.7 percent), the Duluth-Superior MSA (up 1.4 percent), the Mankato MSA (up 1.5 percent) and the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA (up 1.3 percent). The St. Cloud MSA showed no change over the past year.

The Twin Cities gained 9,600 jobs in October, the metro area’s strongest month in 5½ years. These gains helped the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area improve its annual growth rate to its highest level since mid-2006.

DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and our services, visit us at www.PositivelyMinnesota.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PositivelyMN.

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• All labor force data are subject to revision.
• The unemployment rate is the percentage of people actively seeking work compared with those in the labor force (employed plus unemployed).

Upon request, the information in this news release can be made available in alternative formats by contacting the DEED Communications Office at 651-259-7161.

Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
Communications Office
Phone 651/259-7161 or 1-800-657-3858 ∙ TTY 1-800-657-3973
www.PositivelyMinnesota.com
An equal opportunity employer and service provider.