by Nick Dobbins
February 2020
Monthly analysis is based on seasonally adjusted employment data.
Yearly analysis is based on unadjusted employment data.*
Minnesota employers added 8,400 jobs in January on a seasonally adjusted basis. The growth followed losses of 3,200 and 2,200 jobs in November and December, respectively. Goods producers added 2,900 jobs (0.6 percent), and service providers added 5,500 (0.2 percent). All of the growth came in the private sector (up 8,500 jobs or 0.3 percent). Annually the state added 1,844 jobs (0.1 percent), returning to positive over-the-year growth after briefly dipping into red in December. January’s growth was split between goods producers (up 812 or 0.2 percent) and service providers (up 1,032, 0 percent). December’s decline, which was revised down from slight positive growth in the preliminary estimates, was the first month of over-the-year job losses in Minnesota since July of 2010.
Mining and Logging employment was up by 100 (1.6 percent) in January. The supersector has either gained or lost 100 jobs, or stayed flat, in every month since April of 2018 when employers lost 200 jobs. On the year Mining and Logging employers lost 69 jobs (1.1 percent), which was actually a nice improvement over December’s loss of 271 (4.3 percent).
Employers in the Construction supersector added 300 jobs (0.2 percent) in January, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The slight increase comes after a loss of 4,700 jobs in November and a period of flat growth in December. Over-the-year employment in the supersector was up by 3,348 (3.1 percent), maintaining the strong annual growth that was present through most of 2019. Specialty Trade Contractors drove the growth, adding 3,958 jobs (5.6 percent), with Construction of Buildings up by 299 (1.1 percent) and Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction down by 909 (9.2 percent).
Employment in Manufacturing was up by 2,500 (0.8 percent) in January, with Durable Goods manufacturers adding 1,500 jobs (0.7 percent) and Non-Durable Goods manufacturers contributing 1,000 (0.9 percent). Over the year, however, employment in Manufacturing was down by 2,467 (0.8 percent). The decline was caused by continued over-the-year losses among Durable Goods manufacturers (down 3,856 or 1.9 percent), where annual employment has been down since November. Their counterpart in Non-Durable Goods manufacturing added 1,389 jobs (1.2 percent) on the year, mitigating some of the losses.
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities employment was up by 400 (0.1 percent) in January on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Wholesale Trade added 600 jobs (0.5 percent), and Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities added 200 (0.2 percent). Retail Trade employers lost 400 jobs (0.1 percent). On the year the supersector lost 3,800 jobs (0.7 percent). All three component sectors contributed to the declines as Retail Trade lost 3,099 jobs (1.1 percent), Wholesale Trade was down 612 (0.5 percent), and Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities was down 89 (0.1 percent).
Employers in the Information supersector lost 300 jobs (0.7 percent) in January. The supersector lost 1,910 jobs on the year, which was the largest proportional over-the-year job loss in the state. Information employment, which includes publishing and telecommunications businesses, has been steadily declining for decades.
Financial Activities employment was down by 300 (0.2 percent) in January. The loss came entirely from Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (down 0.9 percent) as employment in Finance and Insurance was flat. Over the year the supersector lost 870 jobs (0.5 percent) with declines in Finance and Insurance (off 256 or 0.2 percent) and Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (down 614 or 1.8 percent).
Professional and Business Services employment was up by 7,400 jobs (1.9 percent) in January. It was the largest real and proportional monthly job growth of any supersector in the state. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services employment was up 4,500 (2.9 percent), and Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services was up 2,900 (2.2 percent) while employment in Management of Companies was flat. Annually the supersector added 3,620 jobs (1 percent). Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services added 2,082 jobs (1.3 percent), Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services added 1,311 (1 percent), and Management of Companies added 227 (0.3 percent).
Employment in Educational and Health Services was mostly flat in January (up 100 or 0.0 percent) camouflaging the more dramatic movement in its component sectors. Health Care and Social Assistance employment was off by 1,200 (0.2 percent), but that loss was erased by the addition of 1,300 jobs (1.8 percent) in Educational Services. Over the year the supersector added 1,532 jobs (0.3 percent). Educational Services added 3,774 jobs (5.4 percent), but the effects of that growth were muted by the loss of 2,242 jobs (0.5 percent) in Health Care and Social Assistance. Nursing and Residential Care Facilities employment continued its over-the-year decline, off by 2.3 percent (2,470) after being off by 0.6 and 1.4 percent in November and December, respectively.
Leisure and Hospitality employment was off by 1,500 (0.5 percent) in January, down 1,400 (0.6 percent) in Accommodation and Food Services and 100 (0.2 percent) in Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation. It was the largest real and proportional decline of any supersector in the state and the first month of declines for the supersector since September. On the year the Leisure and Hospitality employers added 876 jobs (0.3 percent), with growth in Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (up 2,226 or 5.3 percent) outpacing losses in Accommodation and Food Services (down 1,350 or 0.6 percent).
Employment in the Other Services supersector was down by 200 (0.2 percent) in January. Over the year employment in Other Services was up by 1,398 (1.2 percent) with Repair and Maintenance adding 1,094 jobs (5 percent) and Personal and Laundry Services adding 745 (2.7 percent). Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations lost 441 (0.7 percent).
Government employment was mostly flat in January as employers shed 100 jobs (0.0 percent). The losses came entirely in Local Government, off by 400 or 0.1 percent. Employment was also flat on the year, as the public sector added 186 jobs (0 percent). Growth in Federal employment (up 815 or 2.6 percent) just outpaced small declines at the State and Local levels.
| Industry | Jan-20 | Dec-19 | Nov-19 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Nonfarm | 2,984.6 | 2,976.2 | 2,978.4 |
| Goods-Producing | 456.7 | 453.8 | 455.5 |
| Mining and Logging | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.5 |
| Construction | 126.9 | 126.6 | 126.6 |
| Manufacturing | 323.3 | 320.8 | 322.4 |
| Service-Providing | 2,527.9 | 2,522.4 | 2,522.9 |
| Trade, Transportation, and Utilities | 531.5 | 531.1 | 528.6 |
| Information | 45.1 | 45.4 | 46.2 |
| Financial Activities | 191.4 | 191.7 | 191.6 |
| Professional and Business Services | 388.3 | 380.9 | 382.5 |
| Educational and Health Services | 552.6 | 552.5 | 553.9 |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 278.2 | 279.7 | 279.6 |
| Other Services | 114.4 | 114.6 | 114.1 |
| Government | 426.4 | 426.5 | 426.4 |
| Source: Department of Employment and Economic Development, Current Employment Statistics, 2020. | |||
*Over-the-year data are not seasonally adjusted because of small changes in seasonal adjustment factors from year to year. Also, there is no seasonality in over-the-year changes.
