MN jobless rate steady at 3.7 percent in March; 7,800 jobs added

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Sean Choate, a business administration student from Metropolitan State University, visited with a potential employer during the Minnesota State University Job and Internship Fair in Brooklyn Center, Friday, Feb. 6, 2015.
Jeffrey Thompson | MPR News file

Updated 1:15 p.m. | Posted 10:22 a.m.

Minnesota employers add 7,800 jobs in March and the state's unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent, state officials said Thursday.

Despite relatively low unemployment, Minnesota's 1.9 percent job growth the past 12 months lags overall growth in the United States, according to seasonally adjusted data released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

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Education and health care led Minnesota job sectors in March, adding 5,800 new jobs. Others with gains included trade, transportation and utilities (up 1,800), government (up 1,700), manufacturing (up 1,600), information (up 800) and other services (up 700), the agency said.

Sectors losing jobs included professional and business services (down 3,600), construction (down 800), leisure and hospitality (down 100), and logging and mining (down 100).

The state's jobless rate remained significantly lower than the 5.5 percent U.S. unemployment rate for March.

Minnesota's labor force participation rate grew for a third straight month. That's good in the short term but Baby Boomer retirements make it unsustainable, said state labor market economist Steve Hine.

"Even if it's temporary," he said, "the increase in our labor force here provides the wherewithal to continue job growth at a decent rate."