ST. PAUL, Minn. – Data released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) showed that the state of Minnesota added 7,700 jobs in July.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady again, at 3.7 percent. Similarly, neighboring Iowa did not see its unemployment rate of 3.2 percent change from June to July. The United States also saw no change, holding at 4.3 percent.
The Education and Health Services sector accounted for the vast majority of Minnesota’s job growth, totalling 8,400 jobs added from in July.
All of Minnesota’s remaining neighbors saw small changes in the past month, with all of them remaining well below Minnesota’s current rate. Wisconsin and South Dakota both saw their rates increase 0.1 percent to 3.2 and 3.1 percent respectively. North Dakota’s rate decreased 0.1 percent to 2.2 percent.
However, Minnesota has been completely outstripped by all but one of its neighbors in the past year. South Dakota has seen its unemployment rate jump from 2.9 to 3.1 percent, the only increase in the group. Minnesota’s decrease from 3.9 percent to 3.7 percent is the smallest improvement of the group.
Meanwhile, Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 3.7 to 3.2, Wisconsin’s dropped a full percent to also hit 3.1 percent, and North Dakota did nearly as well in falling from 3.1 percent to 2.2 percent. All of these states had a decrease in unemployment percentage more than double that of Minnesota’s, and only Wisconsin had a higher starting unemployment rate than Minnesota’s 3.9 percent in July 2016.
Most of Minnesota’s job growth in the past year has been concentrated in the Twin Cities’ metropolitan area. While the state as a whole has added 66,701 jobs in the past twelve months, 53,063 of these, 80 percent, were added in the one metro area. The Education and Health Services sector also leads in the past full year, adding 27,521 jobs.
