Minnesota gained 14,100 jobs in January, and the state unemployment rate remained at 2.9%, the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development reported Thursday.
The jobs gains from December were up 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis, with the private sector gaining 12,000 jobs, also up 0.5%. The revised labor force participation rate remained 68.1%; this measures the portion of the population that is working or actively seeking work. The January gains contrast with December, when the state reported a loss of about 5,200 jobs.
The state data compare to a national unemployment rate of 3.4% and a revised labor force participation rate of 62.4% over the same period. The U.S. reported a gain of 517,000 jobs from December to January.
“Our tight labor market continues to provide great opportunities for job seekers and challenges for many employers,” said interim DEED Commissioner Kevin McKinnon in a news release. “DEED will continue outreach to Minnesotans who remain on the employment sidelines and utilizing our programs and services to get more people into the workforce.”
In making standard revisions to previous years employment data, which DEED does every March, DEED reported that the June 2022 rate was revised up from 1.8%; Minnesota’s lowest unemployment rate in 2022 was 2.3% in April.
Among alternative measures of unemployment, the broadest measure, called the U-6, came in at 4.7% for January. This takes into account those unemployed and seeking work, those who have dropped out of the workforce, and those who are under-employed or otherwise marginally attached to working.
