Central Minnesota is a manufacturing stronghold, with several global manufacturing firms operating there.
The region is especially well known for its expertise in food processing, printing, furniture manufacturing, appliances, machinery and heavy equipment manufacturing.
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2/14/2022 9:00:00 AM
Luke Greiner
Leisure & Hospitality was one of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic recession in Central Minnesota, slicing more than 9,000 jobs from the first quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2020 - a whopping 35% decline. The region regained about 7,000 of those jobs by the third quarter of 2020, but was still down 4,500 jobs compared to the third quarter of 2019, prior to the pandemic.
The Leisure & Hospitality industry continued to recover this year, adding more than 2,300 jobs from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021, accounting for almost one-third of the net job gains in the region over the past year. Leisure & Hospitality expanded nearly 10%, more than three times faster than the total of all industries (see Figure 1 and Table 1).
The biggest recovery occurred at Food Services & Drinking Places, which added 1,765 jobs over the past year, a 10% increase. Despite difficulty finding workers for open jobs, Restaurants regained almost 1,400 jobs from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021. Not surprisingly, the job gains were almost all at Full-service Restaurants, which recovered nearly 1,200 jobs, rather than Fast Food and other Limited Service Restaurants, which added only about 50 jobs over the year.
The region also saw much faster growth at Special Food Services, which includes Caterers, Mobile Food Services, and Food Service Contractors, and Drinking Places, which both grew nearly 30% from 2020 to 2021 as customers returned in droves. Demand and employment also bounced back in Accommodation, especially at Hotels & Motels and RV Parks & Recreational Camps.
Most Amusement, Gambling & Recreation sectors also added jobs over the past year, with the exception of on-going declines at Fitness & Recreational Sports Centers. Golf Courses had another strong summer season as people enjoyed the outdoor activity and are actually up even compared to pre-pandemic employment levels (see Table 1).
| Qtr. 3 2021 | Q3 2020-Q3 2021 | Q3 2019-Q3 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAICS Code | NAICS Industry Title | Number of Firms | Number of Jobs | Numeric Change | Percent Change | Numeric Change | Percent Change |
| 0 | Total, All Industries | 18,843 | 270,859 | +6,946 | +2.6% | -9,770 | -3.5% |
| 1026 | Leisure & Hospitality | 1,611 | 26,338 | +2,329 | +9.7% | -2,205 | -7.7% |
| 71 | Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation | 360 | 3,423 | +278 | +8.8% | -373 | -9.8% |
| 711 | Performing Arts, Sports & Events | 65 | 262 | +54 | +26.0% | -61 | -18.9% |
| 7111 | Performing Arts Companies | 21 | 112 | +30 | +36.6% | -30 | -21.1% |
| 7112 | Spectator Sports | 14 | 86 | +11 | +14.7% | -34 | -28.3% |
| 7113 | Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports | 11 | 37 | +5 | +15.6% | -8 | -17.8% |
| 712 | Museums & Historical Sites | 29 | 192 | ND | ND | 0 | 0.0% |
| 713 | Amusement, Gambling, & Recreation | 266 | 2,968 | +180 | +6.5% | -313 | -9.5% |
| 7131 | Amusement Parks & Arcades | 5 | 58 | +3 | +5.5% | +4 | 7.4% |
| 7132 | Gambling Industries | 8 | 26 | -1 | -3.7% | -21 | -44.7% |
| 71391 | Golf Courses & Country Clubs | 54 | 1,238 | +66 | +5.6% | +10 | 0.8% |
| 71394 | Fitness & Recreational Sports Centers | 68 | 573 | -26 | -4.3% | -150 | -20.7% |
| 71395 | Bowling Centers | 21 | 295 | +48 | +19.4% | -58 | -16.4% |
| 71399 | All Other Amusement & Recreation | 100 | 641 | +127 | +24.7% | -30 | -4.5% |
| 72 | Accommodation & Food Services | 1,251 | 22,915 | +2,051 | +9.8% | -1,832 | -7.4% |
| 721 | Accommodation | 143 | 3,536 | +287 | +8.8% | -1,461 | -29.2% |
| 7211 | Traveler Accommodation | 104 | 3,066 | +147 | +5.0% | -1,336 | -30.3% |
| 72111 | Hotels (exc. Casino Hotels) & Motels | 89 | 1,247 | +121 | +10.7% | -259 | -17.2% |
| 72112 | Casino Hotels | 3 | 1,759 | +26 | +1.5% | -1,006 | -36.4% |
| 72119 | Other Traveler Accommodation | 12 | 60 | +1 | +1.7% | -70 | -53.8% |
| 7212 | RV Parks & Recreational Camps | 32 | 320 | +100 | +45.5% | -186 | -36.8% |
| 7213 | Rooming & Boarding Houses | 7 | 149 | +39 | +35.5% | +61 | +69.3% |
| 722 | Food Services & Drinking Places | 1,108 | 19,379 | +1,765 | +10.0% | -371 | -1.9% |
| 7223 | Special Food Services | 68 | 404 | +90 | +28.7% | -114 | -22.0% |
| 7224 | Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) | 143 | 1,403 | +306 | +27.9% | +82 | +6.2% |
| 7225 | Restaurants | 897 | 17,571 | +1,368 | +8.4% | -339 | -1.9% |
| Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages | |||||||
Every industry in the region was trying to hire – with more than 21,935 openings detailed in the 2021 Job Vacancy Survey. At that level, Central Minnesota reported the highest number of vacancies on record – up more than 6,000 from the previous high. This included nearly 4,600 vacancies in Accommodation & Food Services and almost 4,300 openings in Retail Trade.
Rising demand has created difficulties for employers to find new workers. Job seekers with skills in customer service will find a wide variety of openings and rising wages. The median wage offer for job openings in Accommodation & Food Services increased over $1 from 2020 to 2021, an 8.5% increase; compared to a 3.1% increase across all vacancies.
Contact Luke Greiner at 320-308-5378.
