Minnesota gained 17,400 jobs in October, up 0.6% from September on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to numbers released on Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. All of that job growth came in Minnesota’s private sector. This is the 13th consecutive month of job gains in the state.
Minnesota’s unemployment rate remains historically low at 2.1%, up one tenth of a point from September. The national unemployment rate ticked up two tenths of a point to 3.7% from September to October. Over the month, Minnesota’s labor force participation rate inched down one tenth of a point to 68%. The national rate also went down one tenth of a point to 62.2%.
There are Minnesotan looking for work and there are significant differences in the unemployment rates between racial and ethnic groups. The unemployment rate went up slightly for Hispanic workers to 3.8%, but down significantly for Black workers to 5%, based on 12 month moving averages.
The U.S. gained 261,000 jobs in October, up 0.2% from September.