Minnesota November jobless rate steady at 2.8 percent

Minnesota's unemployment rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent in November, holding steady even as the state lost 800 jobs.

The state's jobless rate remains the lowest since May 1999 and only slightly higher than the all-time low of 2.5 percent in January and February 1999, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development said Thursday as it released the data.

Despite that, Minnesota's annual job growth lagged the nation over the past year with a 1.1 percent gain overall and 1.2 percent for private sector jobs, compared to 1.6 percent total growth and 1.9 percent private growth nationally.

"Minnesota's unemployment rate has remained unchanged since September," DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy said in a statement. "Maintaining this historically low unemployment rate is a sign of the state's economic stability."

Among Minnesota's metro areas, Mankato has shown the strongest job market over the past year, with an unadjusted over-the-year growth in employment at 2.6 percent, the agency said. The Twin Cities region recorded 1.8 percent growth, while the Duluth region came in at 1.5 percent and the St. Cloud area 1.2 percent growth.

Rochester recorded a decline of .5 percent since last November.