State Adds 7,700 Jobs in July

Unemployment rate steady at 3.7 percent

ST. PAUL – Minnesota employers added 7,700 jobs in July, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). 

In addition, June’s employment figures were revised upward by 4,900 jobs to bring total gains that month to 9,300 jobs. Minnesota has added 66,701 jobs in the past year, an increase of 2.3 percent, compared with a national growth rate of 1.5 percent during that period. 

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady in July at 3.7 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.3 percent. 

“Minnesota is outperforming the rest of the country in a number of key economic measures, including the overall unemployment rate, labor force participation and employment-to-population ratio,” said DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy. “Nine of the state’s 11 industrial sectors are growing faster than the national average.” 

Education and health services led all sectors last month with a record gain of 8,400 jobs. Other sectors gaining jobs were leisure and hospitality (up 2,800), government (up 1,600), manufacturing (up 500), other services (up 400) and information (up 200). Logging and mining held steady. 

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