Minnesota and Montana Report Mixed June Employment Data

Minnesota and Montana reported diverging employment trends for June 2026, with Minnesota seeing modest growth and Montana experiencing a sharp decline in unemployment.

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, announced the state added 13,200 jobs in June, marking the third consecutive month of growth following a dip during Operation Metro Surge. The educational and health services sector led the gains with 7,800 new jobs. However, the state's unemployment rate remained at 4.4%, above the 4.2% national average, and the labor force participation rate fell to 67%, its seventh straight monthly decline.

While Walz credited workforce training and small business support for the growth, John Phelan of the Center of the American Experiment challenged this narrative. Phelan reported that Minnesota's nonfarm job growth between 2018 and 2025 was only 2.1%, significantly trailing the 6.4% national growth rate.

In Montana, the unemployment rate fell to 3.3%, the largest one-month decrease since April 2020. Despite this, state labor officials warned of significant gaps in six high-impact sectors, including health care and energy. These industries represent nearly 65% of the state's workforce and will require approximately 300,000 new skilled workers over the next decade.