MN jobless rate dips to 3.8 percent, but 5,700 jobs lost in September
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Updated 1 p.m. | Posted 10:15 a.m.
Minnesota's unemployment rate dipped to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent in September, but the state lost jobs during the month and its annual job growth rate continues to lag the nation.
Leisure and hospitality jobs led the sector growth in September followed by professional and business services, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development said in a statement Thursday.
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Overall, the state labor market lost 5,700 jobs during the month and August job growth estimates were cut from 7,300 jobs gained to 6,000 jobs gained.
Minnesota has added 35,242 jobs in the past year, a 1.2 percent growth rate compared with a 1.9 percent U.S. growth rate in that stretch.
State labor economist Steve Hine says the unemployment rate is being increasingly influenced by retiring boomers. Retirements shrink the number of people participating in the work force, lowering the unemployment rate.
Hine expects some employers will struggle to find the workers with the talent and skills they want.
"We and the nation are certainly well into that time period where job growth is going to be constrained by the lack of warm bodies to fill positions," he said.