I almost missed this news but it does matter. Minnesota’s unemployment rate is usually lower than the average for the country. Even so we hit a new record low last month.
The unemployment rate or 2% in May 2022 – a new record low since the metric has been tracked in 1976, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The decline in the unemployment rate over the month was entirely due to people moving from unemployment to employment. The labor force participation rate rose from 68.3% to 68.4%.
- Gains were in Construction (up 4,100), Manufacturing (up 1,100), Professional & Business Services (up 2,500), and Educational & Health Services (up 3,200).
- Losses were in Leisure & Hospitality (down 4,300 jobs), Government (down 900 jobs), and Retail Trade (down 800 jobs).
Nationally, the unemployment rate stayed the same at 3.6%, and the labor force participation rate ticked up a tenth of a point to 62.3%.
Now might be a good time to find a new job.
