Minnesota lost an aggregate 5,700 jobs in March and the state’s unemployment rate ticked down to 2.8%, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development said Thursday.
All of the job losses were in the private sector, 6,100 jobs, but this was offset by the addition of 400 new government jobs. The unemployment rate was down two-tenths of a percentage point from February, DEED said.
Nationwide, total nonfarm employment increased by 236,000 jobs, up 0.2% from February to March, with the U.S. private sector gaining 189,000. The comparable U.S. unemployment rate was 3.5%.
In Minnesota, the labor force participation rate was unchanged at 68%, and this compares with 62.6% nationally. This measures the total portion of the working age population that is working full-time or actively seeking work, and is used to calculate the main unemployment rate.
“A decline in the unemployment rate is good news for Minnesota,” said DEED Temporary Commissioner Kevin McKinnon in a news release. “While a decline in the number of jobs and no change in the labor force participation rate may seem like a bit of a disconnect, the data trends will even out over time.”
Over the year, Minnesota gained 64,139 payroll jobs, up 2.2%; the private sector gained 55,386 jobs, up 2.3%. Average hourly wages for all private sector workers in the state fell 15 cents to $35.16 in March; but jumped $1.52 — 4.5% — year-on-year, and since March 2022 are up 11.4%, DEED said.
By race and ethnicity, the unemployment rate in March was highest among Hispanics at 4.3%, and lowest among whites, 2.4%; Blacks were listed at 2.5%.
Among the state’s alternative measures of unemployment, the broadest measure, call U-6, was 4.9%; this includes people not working but actively seeking work with people marginally employed, involuntarily part-time, and those who have voluntarily left the work force and are not seeking jobs.
