Walz touts Minnesota job gains amid high unemployment
By Elyse Apel | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is celebrating three months of job growth in Minnesota, despite continued high unemployment.
This is according to the latest data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
“Minnesota continues to be a leader in economic recovery and expansion despite national uncertainty,” Walz said. “Continued job growth reflects our strategic investments in workforce training, the prioritization of job protections, and support of small businesses impacted by federal operations.”
In the June report released last week, Minnesota added 13,200 jobs. June is the third month of job gains for the state, following a dip during Operation Metro Surge earlier this year.
“Last month’s job gains are good news for Minnesota workers and businesses,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. “To build on that momentum, we need to continue to address the steady decline in our labor force by helping more people enter and return to the workforce.”
Not everything is good news for the state. Minnesota’s unemployment rate continues to outpace the national average.
The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 4.4% in June.
This comes as the national unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%. At 4.4%, Minnesota has the 17th-highest unemployment rate among the states. That is still an improvement from earlier this year when unemployment climbed to its highest level in roughly five years.
Walz applauded June’s 0.4% job growth for outpacing the national rate.
“Since 2019, Governor Walz has helped create 95,000 new jobs, a 3.2% increase,” his office said. “During this time the number of business establishments in the state grew by more than 35,600 and average weekly wages grew $334, an increase of almost 30%.”
Despite the employment gains, the state’s labor force participation rate fell for the seventh consecutive month, dropping two-tenths of a percentage point to 67%. That remains well above the national participation rate of 61.5%.
“This month’s data continues to paint a mixed picture,” said Angelina Nguyen, DEED Labor Market Information director. “It’s good news to see job growth, but labor force and wage growth continue to decline.”
The educational and health services sector posted the largest monthly employment increase, adding 7,800 jobs, or 1.2%.
While the Walz administration applauded the report, some economists expressed concerns with Minnesota’s trends.
John Phelan, an economist with the Minnesota-based Center of the American Experiment, pointed out that the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that since 2018, job growth in Minnesota is less than one-third the national rate.
“Minnesota’s employment growth of 2.3% – 68,956 – between 2018 and 2025 ranks below 31 states,” Phelan wrote.
He added that “from 2018 to 2025, the number of ‘Total Nonfarm’ jobs in Minnesota grew by 2.1% compared to 6.4% for the United States as a whole; more than triple our state’s rate.”
Elyse Apel, a graduate of Hillsdale College, is a reporter for The Center Square covering Minnesota and Michigan. Her work has appeared in a range of national outlets, including the Washington Examiner, The American Spectator, and The Daily Wire.