by Nick Dobbins
January 2014
Monthly analysis is based on seasonally adjusted employment data.
Yearly analysis is based on unadjusted employment data.*
Employment climbed sharply in December with 9,500 jobs added. Private Sector employment jumped 6,900 while Public Sector employment rose 2,600. Private Sector employment was split with 2,200 jobs in Private Goods Producing and 4,700 jobs in Private Service Providing. Public Sector employment growth was split between State Government (800) and Local Government (1,800). Five sectors added 1,000 workers or more with Trade, Transportation, and Utilities leading the way with 4,600 jobs (0.9 percent). Government added 2,600 (0.6 percent), and Manufacturing increased 1,700 (0.6 percent). The other big job adders were Educational and Health Services 1,200 (0.2 percent) and Professional and Business Services 1,000 (0.3 percent). The big job losers were Leisure and Hospitality which cut 800 jobs (0.3 percent), Other Services down 700 (0.6 percent), and Financial Activities dropping 500 (0.3 percent). Employment growth was stronger in the second half of the year as 19,200 jobs were added during the first six months and 24,600 during last six months. The 45,800 jobs added between December 2012 and 2013 created a 1.7 percent increase. Private Sector employment expanded by 44,100 (1.9 percent), and Public Sector employment increased 1,700 (0.4 percent).
Employment increased 100, lifting job gains for the year to 500. This sector had the second highest job growth in 2013 on a percentage basis, increasing 7.0 percent. Employment in the industry is the highest it's been since 2000 with the majority of job expansion occurring in mining.
Construction employment increased for the third straight month (400 jobs in December), pushing job growth to 7.1 percent for the year. Construction jobs increased 6,600 over the year, pushing employment in the industry to its highest level since April 2012. December's 99,100 total is up from the trough of 85,900 in May 2010 but still far below the housing boom peak of 132,000 reached in February 2006. The state lost 46,100 construction jobs from the 2006 peak to 2010 bottom and has regained only 13,200 construction jobs since.
Manufacturing employment increased for the fourth consecutive month, adding 1,700 jobs. But the pickup in hiring during the last few months wasn't strong enough to make up for job cutbacks earlier in the year. The industry lost 500 jobs over the year, marking 2013 as the first year of job loss for manufacturing since 2010. Durable Goods Manufacturing added 700 jobs over the year, but Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing cut 1,200 jobs.
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities had its second strongest month of the year in December, adding 4,600 jobs. Job growth over 2013 was stronger than in 2012 with 11,800 jobs added. All three component industries added employment during the year. Wholesale Trade added 1,900 (1.5 percent), Retail Trade added 7,400 (2.6 percent), and Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities has added 2,500 (2.7 percent) jobs over the last 12 months.
Information employment dropped 100 jobs in December after having surged 1,300 in November. The huge jump in the November workforce lifted job growth for the year to 2,200. Job growth over the year was 4.0 percent, up sharply from last year's 1.4 percent. Job growth was generated in Internet Service Providers, Web Search Portals, and Data Processing Services or Other Information Services as Publishing and Telecommunications employment continue to shrink. This sector looks like it will experience annual job growth for the first time in 12 years.
Employment in Financial Activities dipped in December with both Finance and Insurance (100 jobs) and Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (400) cutting employment. Employment in both components is up over the year with Finance and Insurance adding 900 and Real Estate and Rental and Leasing employment increasing 700. The 1,600 jobs added in Financial Activities is down from the 3,000 employment jump in 2012.
Professional and Business Services employment increased for the first time in six months in December, climbing 1,000 jobs. The sector added 14,000 just during the first six months but then cut 10,100 jobs over the last six months. The net employment growth for the year was 3,900. While Professional and Technical Services employment was down 700 (0.5 percent), 3,800 jobs were added in Management of Companies (3.7 percent), and Administrative and Support Services employment rose 1,800 (1.4 percent) for the year.
Employment in Educational Services jumped 1,200 in December. Private Education increased 1,000 while Health and Social Assistance added 200. This sector added 10,900 workers in 2013 with almost all the growth accounted for by Health and Social Assistance.
Employment in Leisure and Hospitality slipped 800 in December with 900 jobs lost in Accommodation and Food Services and 100 jobs gained in Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation. The sector added 6,900 (2.8 percent) over the last 12 months with 5,100 positions created in Accommodation and Food Service (up 2.5 percent) and 1,800 jobs added in Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (4.5 percent).
Employment in Other Services ended the year on a down note as employment fell 700 in December. December's drop pushed employment growth over the year down to 200 (0.2 percent). The sector added jobs for the third consecutive year after five straight years of declining employment.
Government employment jumped 2,600 in December. Federal Government employment was unchanged from the November while State Government climbed 800 and Local Government rose 1,800. Local government payrolls were up 2,000 (0.7 percent) from a year ago while State Government was up 200 (0.2 percent). Federal Government employment declined for the fifth straight year, losing 500 (1.6 percent) over the year.
| Minnesota Seasonally Adjusted Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment (Data In Thousands) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | Dec-13 | Nov-13 | Oct-13 |
| Total Nonagricultural | 2,797.7 | 2,788.2 | 2,787.3 |
| Goods-Producing | 413.5 | 411.3 | 410.4 |
| Mining and Logging | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Construction | 99.1 | 98.7 | 98.0 |
| Manufacturing | 306.8 | 305.1 | 304.9 |
| Service-Providing | 2,384.2 | 2,376.9 | 2,376.9 |
| Trade, Transportation, and Utilities | 521.8 | 517.2 | 517.7 |
| Information | 56.8 | 56.9 | 55.1 |
| Financial Activities | 179.4 | 179.9 | 178.9 |
| Professional and Business Services | 341.8 | 340.8 | 343.1 |
| Educational and Health Services | 497.5 | 496.3 | 495.3 |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 253.8 | 254.6 | 253.4 |
| Other Services | 116.0 | 116.7 | 116.0 |
| Government | 417.1 | 414.5 | 417.4 |
*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.
