by Nick Dobbins
August 2023
Monthly analysis is based on seasonally adjusted employment data.
Yearly analysis is based on unadjusted employment data.
Employment in Minnesota was mostly flat over the month on a seasonally adjusted basis in July as state employers shed 400 jobs or 0.0%. Goods producers lost 1,200 jobs (0.3%) while service providers added 800 jobs (0.0%). Overall, employers have added 9,700 jobs in 2023.
Over the year employers in Minnesota added 49,026 jobs (1.7%). Service providers added 47,437 jobs (1.9%), while goods producers added 1,589 jobs (0.3%).
Employment in Mining and Logging was down by 100 (1.5%) over the month in July. The supersector posted a seasonally adjusted 6,400 total jobs for the month, its lowest employment total in 2023.
Over the year Mining and Logging employers added 215 jobs (3.3%), the third-highest proportional growth of any supersector, trailing only Leisure and Hospitality and Educational and Health Services.
Construction industry employers lost 300 jobs (0.2%) in July, on a seasonally adjusted basis. It was just the second month of negative seasonally adjusted growth in 2023 for the supersector. Employment is up by 4,000 during that period.
On an annual basis Construction employers added 3,827 jobs (2.6%). Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction drove the growth, with the component sector adding 2,265 jobs or 10.1%. Specialty Trade Contractors added 1,543 jobs (1.6%), and Building Construction was up 19 (0.1%).
Manufacturing employers lost 800 jobs (0.2%) over the month of July. The losses came entirely among Durable Goods Manufacturing, which lost 1,000 jobs (0.5%), its fifth consecutive month of seasonally adjusted job losses. Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing added 200 jobs (0.2%).
Over the year the Manufacturing supersector lost 2,453 jobs (0.7%). It was one of only two supersectors to lose jobs on the year, along with Financial Activities. Manufacturing employers dipped into negative growth in July caused in large part by the loss of 1,819 jobs (1.5%) in Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing. Food Manufacturing was off by 1,033 jobs (2.1%). Durable Goods Manufacturing was also down, off by 634 jobs (0.3%).
Employment in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities was up by 2,900 (0.5%) in July. All three component sectors added jobs. Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities was up 1,300 (1.1%), Retail Trade was up 1,100 (0.4%), and Wholesale Trade employers added 500 jobs (0.4%).
Over the year the supersector added 8,824 jobs (1.7%). Employment in Wholesale Trade was off by 1,168 (0.9%), but those declines were more than offset by growth in the other two component sectors. Retail Trade was up 4,046 (1.4%), with Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers showing particularly strong growth (up 1,201 or 3.5%), while Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities added 5,946 jobs (5.4%) with growth spread among its component industry groups.
Information employment was off by 400 (0.9%) over the month in July. The monthly loss brought employment in the supersector to its lowest level of the year, sitting at 45,900 jobs.
On an annual basis Information employment was up by 358 (0.8%), despite both published component sectors (Publishing and Telecommunications) posting negative growth.
Employment in Financial Activities was flat in July, holding at 189,800 jobs. Finance and Insurance was up by 100 (0.1%) while Real Estate and Rental and Leasing was down by 100 (0.3%).
Over the year Financial Activities employers lost 3,365 jobs (1.7%). It was one of only two supersectors to post negative annual growth, the other being Manufacturing. Finance and Insurance employment was off by 2,985 (1.9%), with component Credit Intermediation and Related Activities down 2,371 (3.8%). Real Estate and Rental and Leasing was off by 380 (1%).
Professional and Business Services employers added 500 jobs (0.1%) in July. Management of Companies was up by 400 (0.5%), and Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services was up 300 (0.2%), while Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services lost 200 jobs (0.1%).
Over the year Professional and Business Services employment was mostly flat, adding 158 jobs or 0.0%. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services added 1,067 jobs (0.6%), but that was largely offset by losses in the other two component sectors. Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services lost 791 jobs (0.6%), with that decline driven by a loss in component Employment Services, which was off by 902 jobs (1.5%).
Employment in Educational and Health Services was up by 1,500 (0.3%) over the month in July, with both components posting positive growth. Educational Services added 300 jobs (0.4%), and Health Care and Social Assistance added 1,200 (0.2%).
Over the year Educational and Health Services employers added 19,724 jobs or 3.6%. This was the second-highest proportional annual growth of any supersector, trailing only Leisure and Hospitality. Health Care and Social Assistance employment was up by 17,028 (3.5%), with Ambulatory Health Care Services up 4.7% (7,496 jobs). Educational Services added 2,696 jobs (4.5%) with growth at all published levels.
Leisure and Hospitality employers lost 3,800 jobs (1.4%) in July. Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation was down by 1,500 (3%), and Accommodation and Food Services was down 2,300 (1.1%). It was the second consecutive month of adjusted losses for the supersector.
Over the year, Leisure and Hospitality employers added 11,155 jobs or 4%. While this remained the largest proportional growth of any supersector in Minnesota, it is notably down from the 6.7% annual growth posted in June and is the lowest annual growth since March of 2021. Combined with the monthly declines, this slowing growth suggests that the recovery in the supersector that was hardest-hit by the recent pandemic may finally be leveling off.
Employment in Other Services was up by 200 (0.2%) over the month in July. It was the fourth consecutive month of seasonally adjusted growth for the supersector.
Over the year employment in Other Services was up by 510 (0.5%). That growth was driven by Personal and Laundry Services, which added 745 jobs (2.8%), while Repair and Maintenance and Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, and Professional Organizations both lost jobs.
Employment in Government was down slightly in July, off by 100 jobs (0.3%). The declines came entirely at the Federal level (down 100 or 0.3%), as both State and Local employment was flat on the month.
Annually Government employers added 10,073 jobs (2.6%). Federal employment was up by 942 (3%), State was up 676 (0.7%), with the growth coming completely in the non-education sector, and Local employment was up by 8,455 (3.2%), with its growth also coming from non-education employment.
| Minnesota Seasonally Adjusted Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment (In Thousands) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | Jul-23 | Jun-23 | May-23 |
| Total Nonfarm | 2982.6 | 2983 | 2985.9 |
| Goods-Producing | 466 | 467.2 | 469 |
| Mining and Logging | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Construction | 137.1 | 137.4 | 136.9 |
| Manufacturing | 322.5 | 323.3 | 325.6 |
| Service-Providing | 2516.6 | 2515.8 | 2516.9 |
| Trade, Transportation, and Utilities | 535.8 | 532.9 | 531.2 |
| Information | 45.9 | 46.3 | 46.1 |
| Financial Activities | 189.8 | 189.8 | 189.8 |
| Professional and Business Services | 387.5 | 387 | 390.1 |
| Educational and Health Services | 565.4 | 563.9 | 562.8 |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 265 | 268.8 | 272.6 |
| Other Services | 108.5 | 108.3 | 107.5 |
| Government | 418.7 | 418.8 | 416.8 |
| Source: Department of Employment and Economic Development, Current Employment Statistics, 2023. | |||
