ST. PAUL — Minnesota’s job growth appears to be slowing as the state’s labor market tightens, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The key findings from Thursday’s release of job figures from the agency, often referred to as DEED, show:
- Minnesota’s unemployment rate in September fell to 3.2%, from 3.3% the month before.
- The state’s seasonally-adjusted job growth, meanwhile, added 100 new jobs in September.
- August’s 1,100-job gain was revised downward to 400 for that month.
Minnesota continues to have lower unemployment than the rest of the country: The U.S. rate was 3.5% in September. But the state’s job growth has lagged. Minnesota has added 4,989 jobs since September 2018, a 0.2% increase. National job growth was 1.5% in the same timeframe.
Racial disparities continue
Unemployment among Minnesota blacks continues at a rate more than twice that of the state’s white population . While DEED notes that small sample sizes could lead to random measurement errors, the agency reported:
- White unemployment in September was 2.8%, the same as the month before but an increase from the 2.5% a year ago.
- Black unemployment was 6.6%, a drop from 6.8% in August but an increase from 5.2% a year ago.
- The Hispanic rate was 3% in September, a drop from 3.2% in August and 5.3% in September 2018.
