State Gains 15,100 Jobs in April
May 18, 2017
ST. PAUL – Minnesota employers added 15,100 jobs in April, the most monthly job gains in the state since September 2013, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
The state has added 34,715 jobs over the past year, a gain of 1.2 percent. U.S. jobs grew 1.4 percent during that period.
The Minnesota unemployment rate held steady in April at a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent, compared with a U.S. unemployment rate of 4.4 percent.
“This is the largest monthly jobs gain Minnesota has seen in nearly four years,” said DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy. “Minnesota has already added nearly 23,000 jobs in the first four months of 2017. That job growth combined with rising wages and increasing work hours all point to strong labor market conditions statewide.”
Education and health services led all sectors in April with 4,300 new jobs, followed by construction (up 3,600), government (up 3,000), professional and business services (up 2,700), manufacturing (up 1,100), other services (up 1,000), leisure and hospitality (up 500) and information (up 200).
The following sectors lost jobs: trade, transportation and utilities (down 700), financial activities (down 500) and logging and mining (down 100).