Find a Job

The detailed state employment numbers for July 2012 have been released by the Department of Labor. The State of Minnesota's unemployment rate for the month was published at 5.8%. This is a 0.2% increase over June and breaks the 3-month trend of 5.6% (Apr-Jun). Minnesota's rate has stayed in the upper 5% range since November last year. Compared to June, there are around 6,000 more unemployed people in Minnesota. The number of workers employed in the State dropped by around 5,500 and the civilian workforce numbers were relatively flat. The effect of these changes was the July rate increase.

For Minnesota the July 2012 employment numbers are still improved when compared to the 9.6% rate in July 2011. Compared to a year ago there are approximately 24,000 fewer unemployed workers in Minnesota. Also for the year there are approximately 18,600 more individuals employed in the state. Additionally, during the past year the overall workforce has actually shrunk by about 5,600. When combined these numbers result in the significant (0.8%) drop in the unemployment rate for MN.

If we look at MN's industry numbers for July, we see the results are mixed. Up for July were the business sectors of Construction, Trade Transportation and Utilities, Financial Activities, and Leisure & Hospitality. Down for the month were Manufacturing, Information (slightly), and Education & Health Services.

Another more detailed way to review the July results is to look at the employment statistics for the big metro areas in Minnesota. A couple metropolitan areas saw improvements in July including Rochester (dropped to 4.9% from 5.0%) and the Fargo Area (down from 3.3% to just 3.0%). Up for the month was the City of Mankato which rose to 5.3% (from 5.0%). The City of St. Cloud rose from 5.7% to 5.8%. The northern City of Duluth rose from 7.0% in June to 7.1% in July. Lastly, the Twin Cities Metro Area (Minneapolis & St. Paul) saw their rate rise in July from 5.8% to 5.9%.

Our last comparison is to the other states in the region. Neighboring states with higher unemployment rates than Minnesota include Wisconsin (7.3%), Illinois (8.9%) and Michigan (9.0%). States with lower rates are Iowa (5.3%), North Dakota (3.0%), and South Dakota (4.4%).

Please check back when the August employment numbers for the State of Minnesota are published later this Summer. Also remember that previously released numbers may be adjusted by the Department of Labor.