Minnesota's May 2012 Unemployment Report

The U.S. Department of Labor reported the May 2012 Minnesota unemployment rate at 5.6%. This rate is flat from the April 2012 rate which was also just 5.6%. However, the number of unemployed workers actually dropped for the month as well at the total number of employed worked increased. These improvements were offset by an increase in the overall civilian work force keeping the unemployment rate static.

When compared to 2011, Minnesota's May 2012 rate of 5.6% is 1% better than in May 2011. This rate decrease resulted in around 12,000 less people being unemployed in MN in 2012 vs. 2011. Also, there are around 25,000 more people employed in the state than just one one year ago. The 5.6% May rate is also significantly lower than the national average in May 2012 of 8.2%. Also, as the national rate rose (slightly) in May (from 8.1%), Minnesota's unemployment rate has remained the same.

For the month of May, the employment numbers for the various Minnesota business sectors were mixed. One the plus side for the month were Education & Health Services, Construction, Manufacturing, and Government. Some sectors on the down side in May included Leisure & Hospitality, Information, Professional & Business Services, and Other Services.

Several of the Minnesota cities the were reported on by the DOL experienced an improvement in their unemployment rates for May 2012. These include the cities of Duluth (6.4%), Fargo (3%), and Grand Forks (3.7%) Area. A few areas, however, showed increases in their rates such as Mankato (4.4%) and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul (5.2%). Both of these areas had slightly worse unemployment rates for May when compared to April 2011. Rochester (4.4%) and St. Cloud (5.1%) were both static for the month.

Much of the Upper Midwest areas continues to have good employment numbers when compared to the rest of the nation. For May, Minnesota also has strong employment numbers compared to other states in the area. The neighboring state of Wisconsin had it's unemployment rate for May tick up to 6.8%. Also, the State of Michigan saw it's May rate rise to 8.5%. The much less populated states of Iowa (5.1%) North Dakota (3.0%) and South Dakota (4.3%) had the lowest unemployment rates for the region.

Please check back with us when the June 2012 employment numbers are published for Minnesota. We'll once again take a detailed look at the Minnesota statistics, cities, and industries. As always note that the employment numbers can be adjusted at a later date and may change the information presented in this article.