Minn. drops 12.5K jobs in October; jobless rate steady at 4 percent

Minnesota's unemployment rate held steady in October at a seasonally adjusted 4 percent even as employers cut 12,500 jobs, state officials said Thursday.

That 4 percent rate remains better than the 4.9 percent national rate, but the state continues to lag the nation in job growth. Minnesota's gained 31,375 jobs the past 12 months, up 1.1 percent, compared to the nation's 1.6 percent growth rate, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reported .

"The number of jobs lost in October is certainly a disappointment," DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy said in a statement. "However, this is one snapshot in time. Overall, the state has still added more than 30,000 jobs this past year, and Minnesota's unemployment rate remains steady."

The job losses in Minnesota do not appear to be the result of layoffs because first-time claims for jobless benefits fell,said state labor market analyst Oriane Casale.

"We continue to have one of the tightest labor markets nationwide," Casale said. "Of the 20 largest states, only Colorado and Massachusetts have tighter labor market comparing the number of online jobs postings with the number of unemployed."

Casale added that Minnesota's leading job indicators were positive. The number of hours in the average work week increased and average hourly wages in the private sector grew nearly 5 percent over the year.

Minnesota industries that lost jobs in October included leisure and hospitality (down 3,900) and trade, transportation and utilities (down 2,500).

Financial activities (up 1,100) and government (up 200) gained jobs in October.

Over the past year, education and health services led all sectors, gaining 11,623 jobs, with professional and business services up 6,644 jobs.

Manufacturing jobs are down by 1,335 over the past 12 months. Logging and mining are down 989 jobs.