Minnesota Unemployment Rate Holds Steady at 3.3%

St. Paul – Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained a steady 3.3% during December, according to data released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December also held a steady 3.5%.

Minnesota gained 3,978 jobs from December 2018 to December 2019, a 0.1% increase.

The private sector average wage rate was up 24 cents in December for a 4% rise over the year.

“Minnesota remains a national leader in labor force participation rates as more Minnesotans are stepping from the sidelines to employment, however we continue to experience a tight labor market and slowing job growth,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove.

Minnesota’s labor force participation rate held at 70.3%, compared to the national rate of 63.2%. The state’s employment-to-population ratio ticked down one-tenth of a percent to 68%, compared to 61% nationally.

Four supersectors gained jobs in December. Trade, Transportation and Utilities saw the largest jobs gain (up 1,500), followed by Other Services (up 1,300), Leisure and Hospitality (up 1,200), and Government (up 300).

Supersectors losing jobs in December included Education and Health Services (down 1,600), Manufacturing (down 1,200), Information (down 500), Financial Activities (down 400), Construction (down 200), and Mining and Logging (down 100).

The Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was the only MSA to lose jobs in December; employment was down 504 jobs.

Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI MSA gained 2,178 jobs over the month, followed by St. Cloud MSA (up 755), Mankato MSA (587), and Rochester MSA (up 102).

Minnesota Employment and Unemployment - December 2019

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA)

Unemployment Rate December 2019 November 2019 December 2019 December 2018

Minnesota 3.3% 3.3% 3.5% 3.2%

U.S. 3.5% 3.5% 3.4% 3.7%

Employment December 2019 November 2019 December '18 to '19 level of Change December '18 to '19 % level of Change

Minnesota 2,967,400 2,967,200 3,978 +0.1%

U.S. 152,383,000 152,238,000 2,160,000 +1.4%

Minnesota Over the Year Employment Change: December 2018 - December 2019

MN OTY Job Change MN OTY Job Growth Rate US OTY Job Growth Rate

Total nonfarm 3,978 0.1 1.4

Total Private 1,897 0.1 1.6

Logging and Mining -149 -2.3 -2.8

Construction -4,675 -3.8 1.9

Manufacturing -3,919 -1.2 0.4

Trade, Transport. and Utilities 2,752 0.5 0.5

Information -4,816 -9.7 0.8

Financial Activities 2,384 1.3 1.4

Prof. and Business Services -2,485 -0.7 1.9

Ed. and Health Services -4,671 -0.9 2.7

Leisure and Hospitality 14,579 5.5 2.5

Other Services 2,897 2.6 1.3

Government 2,081 0.5 0.6

Metropolitan Statistical Area OTY Employment Change – From December 2018 to December 2019

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) OTY Employment Change (#, NSA) OTY Employment Change (%, NSA)

Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI MSA 2,178 0.1

Duluth-Superior MN-WI MSA -504 -0.4

Rochester MSA 102 0.1

St. Cloud MSA 755 0.7

Mankato MSA 587 1.0

Visit the DEED website to see DEED's alternative measures of unemployment.

DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more information about the agency and its services visit the DEED website or follow DEED on Twitter.