Minnesota gained 9,500 jobs from October to November, the fifth straight month of growth, the largest increase since January and well higher than the national rate, according to numbers released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Minnesota jobs grew 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, outpacing the nation as a whole – up 0.1%. Minnesota’s unemployment rate ticked down one tenth of a percentage point to 3.1% in November, compared to 3.7% nationally. Over the last three months, jobs in Minnesota grew by 17,300 or 0.6% – far higher than the national rate for that timeframe up 0.2%.
Minnesota’s labor force decreased by 7,433 people over the month, bumping the labor force participation rate down two tenths of a percentage point to 68.3%, compared to 62.8% nationaly.
Over the year, Minnesota has gained 47,829 jobs, up 1.6%. Overall U.S. employment grew 1.8% over the year.