Minnesota’s job data were effectively flat for April, with the state losing a net 1,300 jobs and the unemployment rate rising one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.2%, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development said in a release Thursday.
The state’s unemployment rate compares with 4.2% nationally. Nearly 3,300 people joined the state labor force in the month. The state’s labor force participation rate is 68.2%, compared to 62.6% nationally. This measures the number of people working or actively seeking work as a percentage of the population.
“Overall, Minnesota’s jobs market continued to show strength in April, with a favorable unemployment rate and an active and growing labor force,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek in the release.
Mass layoff announcements from the federal government or other employers are not reflected in this data, DEED said, because a job decline will not appear until employees are actually off payroll.
Minnesota wage growth in April rose 5.6% over the year, more than double the rate of inflation.
Of alternative measures of unemployment, the broadest, called the U-6, dropped to 6.8% in April, from 6.9% in March and 5.4% a year ago, DEED said. This measure factors in people who have voluntarily left the labor force, such as stay-at-home parents, discouraged workers who have stopped seeking jobs, and part-time or otherwise marginally employed workers.
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