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Business and Economic News
Mark Zdechlik
St. Paul

Minnesota unemployment rate dropped to 4 percent in May

Hiring Sign
A 'Hiring Now' sign is posted in front of a Pennzoil Speed Oil Change shop in El Cerrito, Cali. Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked down to 4 percent in May, from 4.1 percent in April, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images 2013

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Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked down to 4 percent in May, from 4.1 percent in April, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The rate of people participating in Minnesota's workforce also increased for the first time in three months.

"People are moving from unemployment to employment," said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. 

Labor force participation in Minnesota climbed to 67.9 percent, up two-tenths of a percentage point from April. 

"All of the industries that were hardest hit are the ones that are coming back the strongest,” said Grove. “The largest gain this month was leisure and hospitality, up 6,000 jobs or 2.7 percent. Professional and business services, up 3,500 jobs or 1 percent. You also saw good growth in construction, manufacturing and financial activities." 

Duluth and the Twin Cities metro area saw the strongest job growth, Grove said.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent from 6.1 percent in April, and nationwide the labor force participation rate ticked down one-tenth of a point to 61.6 percent.

DEED reported that based on 12-month moving averages, the unemployment rate for Black Minnesotans fell in May to 6.9 percent from 8.9 percent in April and for Latinx Minnesotans, it fell to 6.6 percent in May, down from 7.7 percent in April. The rate for white Minnesotans was 5.1 percent in May, down from 5.6 percent in April.

"We see from these numbers that Minnesotans are getting back to work,” Grove said. “Our unemployment rate is dropping for the right reasons and there's a lot of opportunity in the Minnesota economy as we come out of this pandemic and move into the next chapter of our state's growth.