歪歪漫画

ST. PAUL 鈥� Minnesota gained 800 jobs from November to December on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to numbers released Thursday, Jan. 18, by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

This is the sixth straight month of job growth in the state. Minnesota鈥檚 private sector gained 2,500 jobs over the month, up 0.1%, while government lost 1,700 jobs.

鈥淐ontinued job growth is great news 鈥� and sharing the story of employment opportunities will help us bring more people into the state鈥檚 labor force,鈥� said DEED Deputy Commissioner Kevin McKinnon. 鈥淥ur tight labor market is creating ongoing challenges for employers 鈥� but it also creates many opportunities for workers.鈥�

Minnesota鈥檚 unemployment rate ticked down two-tenths of a percentage point, to 2.9% in December 2023, from November; the U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.7%.

Minnesota鈥檚 labor force decreased by 6,590 people over the month, the third straight month of labor force declines. The labor force participation rate ticked down two-tenths of a percentage point, to 68.1%.

The U.S. labor force also declined, with the national labor force participation rate decreasing three-tenths of a percentage point, to 62.5%.

Over the month in Minnesota, five 鈥渟upersectors鈥� gained jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis:

• Leisure and hospitality gained 1,800 jobs.
• Trade, transportation and utilities gained 1,500 jobs.
• Construction gained 1,200 jobs.
• Mining and logging gained 300 jobs.
• Financial activities gained 100 jobs.

Over the year, Minnesota gained 50,809 payroll jobs, up 1.7%, while the U.S. was up 1.9% over the year. All but four supersectors posted positive annual growth in Minnesota.

The construction sector in Minnesota is greatly outperforming the national construction sector: it gained 10,792 jobs, up 8.8% compared to 3% growth nationally over the year.

鈥淐onstruction is continuing its job growth streak in Minnesota 鈥� with a job growth rate nearly triple that of construction jobs nationally,鈥� said Angelina Nguy峄卬, DEED's labor market information director.

鈥淭he strongest growth in Minnesota continues to be in heavy and civil engineering construction, which is up an impressive 33.1% over the year. Part of this growth is due to robust infrastructure investment from the federal and state government, part of it is due to warmer weather this winter.鈥�

DEED鈥檚 CareerForce can help connect people with construction jobs 鈥� as well as training programs to help prepare people for construction employment. One example is the for Minnesotans who are underrepresented in the industry. Other training programs are available, too. People are encouraged to to find out more about a range of employment and training opportunities.

DEED鈥檚 next employment numbers release will take place on March 7, when January 2024 employment numbers and benchmarked data for 2023 are released. The annual benchmarking revisions always result in shifts for some months of data for the unemployment rate, the labor force participation rate and the job count.