Minnesota Annual Job Growth Triples National Average

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reported that the state added 45,041 jobs over the past year, achieving an annual growth rate of 1.5%. This performance significantly outpaced the national growth rate of 0.3%, with the state's private sector growth tripling the national private-sector rate of 0.5%. Education and Health Services led the annual gains with 18,007 new positions, and the Twin Cities region added more than 27,500 jobs.

Despite strong annual trends, August data presented a mixed labor market. Minnesota added only 1,500 nonfarm jobs in August, while the U.S. added 162,000. The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, exceeding the national rate of 4.1%. Additionally, the labor force contracted by 2,521 people to approximately 3.1 million, causing the participation rate to dip to 66.8%.

Regional performance varied across the state. Mankato led with a 3.9% growth rate, while employment in Rochester remained stagnant. Duluth and St. Cloud experienced modest declines, with St. Cloud losing nearly 900 jobs. Annual wage growth of 0.4% lagged behind both the national rate of 3.8% and annual inflation of 3.4%.