by Nick Dobbins
December 2015
Monthly analysis is based on unadjusted employment data.
Employment in the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA was down slightly in November, losing 2,361 jobs (0.1 percent). As is often the case this time of year, the Mining, Logging, and Construction and Leisure and Hospitality supersectors led the decline, shedding 2,343 jobs (3 percent) and 4,910 jobs (2.7 percent) respectively as their peak seasons came to a close. Professional and Business Services also lost jobs in November, shedding 1,726 (0.5 percent), with the Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services sector losing 3,458 jobs (2.9 percent). Although employment in the metro declined overall, more supersectors added jobs than lost them. Trade, Transportation, and Utilities added 3,840 jobs (1.1 percent), with 3,466 new jobs coming in Retail Trade. Government employers added 1,499 (0.6 percent). Annually, the metro area added 30,609 jobs (1.6 percent). The biggest losses came in Government employment, which lost 2,476 jobs (1 percent) over the year, primarily in Local Government. There were large annual job gains in Professional and Business Services (up 12, 077 jobs, 3.9 percent), Leisure and Hospitality (up 9,013 jobs, 5.3 percent), and Educational and Health Services (up 8,450, 2.7 percent).
Employment in the Duluth-Superior MSA dipped in November as the area lost 1,022 jobs (0.7 percent), with employment in most supersectors declining on the month. Mining, Logging, and Construction lost 475 jobs (4.7 percent), and Leisure and Hospitality lost 726 (5.3 percent), which conforms to expected seasonal employment patterns. Areas with notable job gains included Government (up 211 or 0.8 percent) and Financial Activities (up 140 or 2.6 percent). Over the year the Duluth metro added 1,298 jobs (1 percent). Trade, Transportation, and Utilities lost 283 jobs (1.1 percent), largely from a sharp drop of 546 jobs (3.4 percent) in Retail Trade. The only other supersectors to shed jobs on the year were Information (down 31 jobs or 2.2 percent) and Other Services (down 7 jobs, 0.1 percent).
The Rochester MSA lost 131 jobs (0.1 percent) in November. In addition to the usual winter suspects, Leisure and Hospitality and Mining, Logging, and Construction, losses also appeared in Manufacturing (down 252 jobs, 2.3 percent) and Professional and Business Services (down 66, 1.1 percent), among others. The largest monthly increase was in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, which added 323 jobs (1.8 percent) on the back of an additional 297 jobs (2.4 percent) appearing in Retail Trade as the holiday shopping season presumably started in earnest. Annually, Rochester added 109 jobs (0.1 percent), mirroring the monthly change with big gains in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (up 247 or 1.4 percent) and significant losses in Leisure and Hospitality (down 243 or 2.4 percent).
Employment in the Saint Cloud MSA was down by 542 (0.5 percent) in November. Besides Leisure and Hospitality and Mining, Logging, and Construction, significant losses also appeared in the Financial Activities supersector, which shed 127 jobs (2.6 percent). The only supersectors to add jobs were Government (up 285 or 1.8 percent) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (up 130 or 0.6 percent). Annually, Saint Cloud lost 471 jobs, (0.4 percent). Most supersectors lost employment, and the only gains appeared in Government (up 397 or 2.5 percent) and Manufacturing (up 66 or 0.4 percent).
Employment in the Mankato-North Mankato MSA dipped by 359 (0.6 percent) in November. All of the decrease was in the private sector, as Government employment ticked up slightly, adding 32 jobs (0.3 percent). Annually, Mankato employment is down 785 (1.4 percent) with private and public employers both shedding jobs.
The Fargo-Moorhead MSA added 582 jobs (0.4 percent) in November, primarily on the strength of a 574-job (1.9 percent) increase in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities. The MSA also bucked a strong seasonal trend by adding 260 jobs (1.7 percent) in Leisure and Hospitality in November for reasons that defy simple analysis. The Grand Forks-East Grand Forks MSA also added employment in this supersector for November, making them the only two MSAs we look at to do so. Annually, the Fargo metro area added 1,113 jobs (0.8 percent) with increases across a number of supersectors. Significant losses came in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (down 482 or 1.5 percent) and Manufacturing (down 222 or 2.1 percent), among others.
Employment in the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks MSA grew by 205 (0.3 percent) in November. As would be expected, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (up 231 or 1.7 percent) and Government (up 106 or 0.7 percent) were among the notable expansions for the month, and Mining, Logging, and Construction (down 131 or 3.5 percent) was the largest job loser. Annually, the Grand Forks area added 717 jobs (1.2 percent). Trade, Transportation, and Utilities had the largest numerical growth, adding 460 jobs (3.4 percent) on the strength of 437 new jobs in Retail Trade. The biggest proportional growth came in Mining, Logging, and Construction, which added 296 jobs or 8.9 percent.
