Minnesota's jobless rate inches slightly upward in June

Minnesota's jobless rate increased a notch to 3.9 percent last month, a rise of one tenth of a percent. But employers added 2,900 positions to their payrolls: The private sector added 3,500 jobs, while government employers cut 600.

Even so, the jobless rate rose as the estimated number of people who were paid for work during the month fell by more than 9,000.

Payroll employment in the state has grown 1.5 percent over the past year. U.S. job growth was 2.1 percent.

"June marks the sixth anniversary of the official end of the 'Great Recession,' and the economy is seeing continued positive change," said Katie Clark Sieben, commissioner of the state Department of Employment and Economic Development, which released the statistics. "For example, the state saw gains in June in construction that pushed the industry back above 110,000 jobs — a level we haven't seen since July 2008."

Minnesota's labor force participation rate declined slightly in June for the first time in six months to 70.6 percent as the number of people in the job market declined. Education and health services led all sectors in June with 3,200 additional jobs, followed by construction with 2,600 new jobs. Two other industries added jobs: professional and business services (200 additional jobs) and financial activities (100 additional jobs). Six sectors saw slight declines in June: manufacturing (800 jobs lost); trade, transportation and utilities (600 jobs lost); government (600 jobs lost); information (500 jobs lost); leisure and hospitality (400 jobs lost); and other services (300 jobs lost). Logging and mining held steady.