St. Paul – Minnesota gained 800 jobs from November to December on a seasonally adjusted basis according to numbers released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). This is the sixth straight month of job growth in the state. Minnesota's private sector gained 2,500 jobs over the month, up 0.1%, while Government lost 1,700 jobs.

"Continued job growth is great news – and sharing the story of employment opportunities will help us bring more people into the state's labor force," said DEED Deputy Commissioner Kevin McKinnon. "Our tight labor market is creating ongoing challenges for employers – but it also creates many opportunities for workers."

Minnesota's unemployment rate ticked down two-tenths of a percentage point to 2.9% in December 2023 from November; the U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.7%. Minnesota's labor force decreased by 6,590 people over the month, the third straight month of labor force declines. The labor force participation rate ticked down two-tenths of a percentage point to 68.1%. The U.S. labor force also declined, with the national labor force participation rate decreasing three-tenths of a percentage point to 62.5%.

Over the month in Minnesota, five supersectors gained jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis: 

• Leisure & Hospitality gained 1,800 jobs
• Trade, Transportation & Utilities gained 1,500 jobs
• Construction gained 1,200 jobs
• Mining & Logging gained 300 jobs
• Financial Activities gained 100 jobs

Over the year, Minnesota gained 50,809 payroll jobs, up 1.7%, while the U.S. was up 1.9% over the year. All but four supersectors posted positive annual growth in Minnesota. The Construction sector in Minnesota is greatly outperforming the national Construction sector: it gained 10,792 jobs, up 8.8% compared to 3.0% growth nationally over the year.

"Construction is continuing its job growth streak in Minnesota – with a job growth rate nearly triple that of Construction jobs nationally," said DEED's Labor Market Information Director Angelina Nguyễn. "The strongest growth in Minnesota continues to be in Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction, which is up an impressive 33.1% over the year. Part of this growth is due to robust infrastructure investment from the federal and state government, part of it is due to warmer weather this winter."  

DEED's CareerForce can help connect people with construction jobs – as well as training programs to help prepare people for construction employment. One example is the MnDOT/DEED Heavy Highway Construction Training Program for Minnesotans who are underrepresented in the industry. Other training programs are available, too. People are encouraged to contact a CareerForce location near them to find out more about a range of employment and training opportunities.

DEED's next employment numbers release will take place on March 7, when January 2024 employment numbers and benchmarked data for 2023 are released. The annual benchmarking revisions always result in shifts for some months of data for the unemployment rate, the labor force participation rate and the job count.

Visit the DEED website to view state and national employment statistics, monthly jobs numbers and data. You can also find alternative measures of unemployment on the DEED website. In addition, see related articles about job growth and labor market changes in the latest issue of Minnesota Employment Trends. Access resources to help Minnesotans prepare for and find employment now at CareerForceMN.com/GoodJobsNow.