Minnesota’s unemployment rate held steady at 1.8% in July, tying the record low since the metric started being tracked in 1976, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. This was also the all time lowest state rate on record in the United States as of June.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, Minnesota gained 19,100 jobs in July, up 0.7% from June. The private sector gained 14,600 jobs in July, up 0.6% from June.
The size of Minnesota’s labor force declined for the first time this year, dropping nearly 4,000 people as a result of small declines in both the number employed and the number unemployed. The result was a one tenth of a point decrease in the labor participation rate to 68.4%.