Minnesota Still Down About 256,000 Jobs From Last Year

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - Minnesota's unemployment rate continues to drop from the historic highs reached following the pandemic lockdown in the spring, but the job growth rate has slowed down a bit when compared to May and June.

The latest jobs report from the State Department of Employment and Economic Development put the state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate for July at 7.7-percent. That is down from 8.6-percent in June but is more than double the 3.2-percent rate reported for July of last year.

State officials say Minnesota's economy added about 32,500 jobs in July, but over the past year, employment is down by over 256,000 jobs for a negative job growth rate of 8.5-percent. In the Rochester area, the job loss over the past year totals around 10,000 positions or about 8-percent.

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