Minnesota’s unemployment rate in July remains steady at record low of 1.8%

The unemployment rate held steady at 1.8% in July 2022 – tying the record low since the metric has been tracked in 1976, according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). This was also the all-time lowest state rate on record in the United States as of June.

On a seasonally adjusted basis Minnesota gained 19,100 jobs in July, up 0.7% from June, following the addition of 1,000 jobs (revised upward) in June 2022. The private sector gained 14,600 jobs in July, up 0.6% from June.

Since January 2022, Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted employment has grown 2.3% while the U.S. has grown 1.9% since January 2022.

The U.S. gained 528,000 jobs in July, up 0.3% from June, with the private sector up 471,000 jobs, or 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The U.S. has now regained all the jobs lost during the pandemic recession.

The size of Minnesota’s labor force declined for the first time this year, dropping by nearly 4,000 people as a result of small declines in both the number employed and the number unemployed. The result was a one-tenth of a point decrease in the labor force participation rate, to 68.4%.

In 2022, Minnesota’s labor force growth has been strong but slowing. Based on a three-month moving average, Minnesota’s labor force grew 0.3% in March-May, 0.2% in April-June and 0.1% in May-July. The U.S. labor force grew 0.1%, -0.1% and 0% over the same periods.

Nationally, the unemployment rate ticked down one-tenth of a point to 3.5% and the size of the labor force shrank by 63,000 workers, with the labor force participation rate down one-tenth of a point to 62.1%. This was due to fewer employed as well as unemployed people nationally.

“Our record-low unemployment rate remained steady in July as Minnesotans continued to find opportunity in the economy,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. “Despite a very tight labor market, employers are hiring at a fast rate, and continue to offer ample opportunities for Minnesotans seeking good-paying jobs. For employers facing hiring challenges, we’re continuing DEED’s Summer of Jobs campaign to highlight job market opportunities, and to help employers find workers in labor pools they may have previously overlooked.”

The Summer of Jobs campaign visited Owatonna last week, where Commissioner Grove, Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan met with business and community leaders to hear about hiring challenges and solutions, as well as to focus on high-demand careers from manufacturing to computer engineering. Yesterday the Summer of Jobs campaign headed north to Thief River Falls where Commissioner Grove participated in the grand opening of Digi-Key’s massive distribution facility, met with leaders and staff at Textron (Arctic Cat), and led a roundtable with area leaders around attracting and retaining workers in the northwestern part of the state. The next Summer of Jobs event will focus on the Office of New Americans, with an emphasis on connecting employers and workers from immigrant and refugee communities. This event is slated for the morning of August 30 in the metro area; additional details will be announced soon.

Employment recovery has not been consistent for all Minnesotans. In July, the labor force participation rate ticked up two-tenths of a point to 68.6% for white Minnesotan’s and three-tenths of a point to 80% for Hispanic Minnesotans. The labor force participation rate ticked down eight-tenths of a point to 68.1% for Black Minnesotans. The unemployment rate remained level at 2.4% for white Minnesotans, fell one-tenth to 7.3% for Black Minnesotans and rose one-tenth to 3.2% for Hispanic Minnesotans in July. (Numbers are based on 12-month moving average Demecon data from the Current Population Survey.)