The presence of such industry powerhouses as Polaris, Arctic Cat and New Flyer make Northwest Minnesota a hub of transportation equipment manufacturing.
From wheat and potatoes to soybeans and sugar beets, the region is a major producer and processor of food staples and specialty agricultural products.
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9/9/2020 9:00:00 AM
Erik White
Let's go back before COVID-19 impacted our economy and acknowledge the persistent employment disparities that exist for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in the Northwest region. Following a decade of employment growth after the last recession, unemployment rates were still about three times higher for Blacks and five times greater for American Indians than for whites in the region, echoing statewide trends. And now, as the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the regional economy, early indicators suggest that the BIPOC community is at risk of even more serious economic impact.
In 2018, the unemployment rate for workers who identified as white alone in Northwest Minnesota was 3.3%, while the rates for all other racial categories were higher, except for Asian or Other Pacific Islanders at 2.0%. Even after a decade of economic recovery, the unemployment rate for American Indians was at 16.5%, and the rate for Blacks stood at 9.6%, while 7.6% of workers of Two or More Races were unemployed. Of the nearly 7,500 Hispanic or Latino workers in the region, the unemployment rate was 5.6%, despite a labor force participation rate that was nearly 75% (Table 1).
| Table 1. Employment Characteristics by Race & Hispanic Origin, 2018 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Minnesota | Minnesota | ||||
| Number In Labor Force (Workers) | Labor Force Partic. Rate | Unemp. Rate | Labor Force Partic. Rate | Unemp. Rate | |
| Total Labor Force | 286,556 | 64.1% | 3.9% | 69.7% | 3.9% |
| White alone | 266,966 | 64.3% | 3.3% | 69.5% | 3.3% |
| Black or African American | 2,711 | 62.1% | 9.6% | 70.7% | 9.9% |
| American Indian & Alaska Native | 8,841 | 58.6% | 16.5% | 58.5% | 12.8% |
| Asian or Other Pac. Islanders | 2,152 | 65.3% | 2.0% | 71.3% | 4.7% |
| Some Other Race | 1,496 | 67.6% | 6.4% | 77.2% | 6.2% |
| Two or More Races | 4,350 | 65.4% | 7.6% | 73.1% | 7.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 7,496 | 74.4% | 5.6% | 76.3% | 6.5% |
| Source: 2014-2018 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates | |||||
One way of understanding COVID-19's impact on the regional economy is through DEED's Unemployment Insurance (UI) Statistics, which are updated monthly. The data tool provides demographic details that allow us to compare the racial make-up of UI claims to the number of jobs in the economy that BIPOC workers hold in the region.
Staggeringly, American Indians constitute 8.3% of regular continued claims despite being just 3.4% of the total workforce in the region, illustrating the impacts that COVID-19 has had on the hospitality and gambling industries that are central to American Indian communities. Unfortunately, the racial disparities also stand out for other race groups. Blacks had 2.5% of July's UI claims while only representing 1.6% of the total workforce in the region. While more than 14,000 of the 17,223 continuing claims were filed by whites, that represented 81.5% of total claims, even though whites accounted for more than 90% of workers in the region (Table 2).
|
Table 2. Northwest Minnesota Racial Make-Up of Jobs and UI Claims |
||
|---|---|---|
| Percent of Total Employment, 2019 | Percent of Regular Continued Claims in July 2020 | |
| White Alone | 92.2% | 81.5% |
| Black or African American Alone | 1.6% | 2.5% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native Alone | 3.4% | 8.3% |
| Asian Alone or Other Pacific Islander | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| Two or More Race Groups | 1.6% | N/A |
| Race Unknown | N/A | 6.6% |
| Source: DEED's Unemployment Insurance Statistics and Quarterly Workforce Indicators | ||
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the economy, it's important to acknowledge and understand the economic disparities that existed prior, and that continue to remain, to ensure that the recovery also reaches those most impacted.
Contact Erik White.
