by Derek Teed
December 2019
In the third quarter of 2019 Minnesota exports had dropped 2 percent year over year. Total exports from Minnesota to the world totaled $5.613 billion in third quarter 2019. The top three nations that Minnesota exports to were Canada at $1.2 billion, Mexico at $660 million, and China at $651 million. The three largest export product types from Minnesota are Optics and Medical at $1.17 billion, Machinery at $829 million, and Electrical Equipment at $721 million.1
Registered Nurses have the number one Current Demand Ranking. Their projected 10-year Growth Rate is expected to be 11.1 percent. The Current Demand Rank numbers two, three, and four are Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Retail Salespersons, and Personal Care Aids, respectively.2
Workers who are 65 years and older made up 4.8 percent of the total workforce in Minnesota in 2018. The largest workforce participation rate for workers 65 year and older is in the Transit and Ground Passenger Transport Industry where they make up 21.3 percent of the industry's employment. The largest employer for workers 65 years and older is Educational Services which employs 14,547 individuals who are 65 years and older.3
The county with the highest cost of living is Isanti County at $62,676 for one parent employed full-time, one parent employed part-time, and one child. The average wages in Isanti County are $41,787. The county with the lowest cost of living is Stevens County at $40,764 for one parent working full-time, one parent working part-time, and one child. The average wages in Stevens County are $27,185.4
In the second quarter of 2019 Hennepin County had the highest wages, most establishments, and the most people employed among counties in Minnesota. The average annual wage in Hennepin County was $69,940. Hennepin County currently employs the most people with 938,582 employees and also has the most establishments at 40,297.5
The highest paying industries in Minnesota in 2018 were Management of Companies and Enterprises at $127,400 annually, Utilities at $108,056 annually, and Finance and Insurance at $106,028 annually.6
1Current and Past Data. (2019, December 2).
2Occupations In Demand. (n.d.).
3Quarterly Employment Demographics. (2019, November 14).
4Cost of Living in Minnesota. (2019, November 14).
5Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). (2019, November 14).
6Ibid.
