MN May jobless rate ticks up to 3.8 percent; 200 jobs cut
Updated 2:25 p.m. | Posted 10:28 a.m.
Minnesota's unemployment rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent in May, a slight uptick from April's 3.7 percent.
While the state's jobless rate remains much lower than the national 6.1 percent rate, data show national job growth outpacing Minnesota over the past year. The state lost 200 jobs in May, officials said.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Minnesota's lackluster employment picture stands in stark contrast to the strong job growth nationwide last month. The 280,000 jobs added across the U.S. were well above the average monthly job gains of 251,000 over the prior 12 months.
The state's added 38,383 jobs since May 2014, a gain of 1.4 percent, while U.S. job growth ran at 2.2 percent during the same period, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reported Thursday.
The uptick in the jobless rate was due to more people joining the labor force and seeking work, said state labor economist Steve Hine.
Strong numbers in prior years effectively created a higher bar in the seasonal adjustment calculations for the state's economy to show job growth last month, he added.
Trade, transportation and utilities led all sectors in May with 6,600 new jobs, the department said. Other industries that added jobs were financial activities (up 900), government (up 300), construction (up 200) and information (up 200).
Sectors that lost jobs included professional and business services (down 4,400), leisure and hospitality (down 1,600), manufacturing (down 1,000), education and health services (down 900), logging and mining (down 300) and other services (down 200).