by Nick Dobbins
July 2019
Monthly analysis is based on seasonally adjusted employment data.
Yearly analysis is based on unadjusted employment data.*
Employment in Minnesota was up by 3,300 (0.1 percent) over the month in June, while May’s estimate was revised up from a gain of 100 to a gain of 2,000. Combined, the two new estimates paint a somewhat rosier picture of the past two months than we had been seeing recently. June’s gains were spread around the market, with goods producers adding 1,300 jobs (0.3 percent) and service providers adding 2,000 (0.1 percent). Both private and public sector employers added jobs on the month. Over the year the state added 20,992 jobs (0.7 percent), a substantial increase over May’s 0.2 percent growth, and the largest proportional over-the-year growth since October of 2018. Goods producers added 8,010 jobs (1.7 percent) while service providers added 12,982 (0.5 percent). Private sector employers drove the annual growth, adding 20,572 jobs (0.8 percent) to the public sector’s 420 jobs (0.1 percent).
Mining and Logging employment was up by 100 (1.5 percent) in June. That brought total seasonally adjusted employment in the supersector up to 6,900, its highest level since it was at 7,300 in July of 2015. Over the year Mining and Logging employers added 145 jobs (2.1 percent). The supersector had annual growth of more than 2 percent in each of the past three months and four of the six months of 2019.
Employment in the Construction supersector was off by 200 (0.2 percent) in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, following an increase of 1,100 in May. Over the year the supersector added 7,047 jobs (5.3 percent). It was the largest proportional over-the-year job growth of any supersector in the state. Specialty Trade Contractors continued to drive the supersector’s growth, adding 8,145 jobs (9.5 percent), while Construction of Buildings was up 425 (1.5 percent), and Heavy and Civil Engineering employment was off by 1,523 (7.5 percent). Construction employers had shown over-the-year job growth in every month since April of 2018.
Employment in Minnesota’s Manufacturing supersector was up by 1,400 (0.4 percent) in June. The entirety of the growth was in Durable Goods Manufacturing, which added 1,500 jobs (0.7 percent) while its counterpart in Non-Durable Goods lost 100 jobs (0.1 percent). Over the year Manufacturers added 818 jobs (0.3 percent). As was the case over the month, the over-the-year growth was driven entirely by the Durable Goods sector, which added 978 jobs (0.5 percent). Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing shed 160 jobs (0.1 percent) with the loss of 317 (0.7 percent) in Food Manufacturing.
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities employment was off by 300 (0.1 percent) in June with declines in both component trade sectors. Wholesale Trade was down by 800 (0.6 percent), and Retail Trade was down 300 (0.1 percent). Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities was up by 800 (0.8 percent). Over the year the supersector lost 3,416 jobs (0.6 percent). Mirroring the monthly estimates, both trade sectors lost jobs. Retail was down 3,161 or 1 percent, and Wholesale lost 1,020 jobs or 0.8 percent, while Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities grew (up 765 or 0.7 percent). The supersector has been in negative over-the-year job growth consistently since December of 2018.
Information employers lost 200 jobs (0.4 percent) in June. May’s estimate was also revised down from a gain of 100 to a decline of 100, negating the only month of positive over-the-month job growth the struggling supersector had seen since November. Annually Information employment was down by 2,183 (4.4 percent). It was once again the largest over-the-year job loss of any supersector in the state by a large margin. The only other supersector to lose jobs, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, was off by just 0.6 percent.
The Financial Activities supersector added 400 jobs (0.2 percent) in June. Finance and Insurance added 500 jobs (0.3 percent) while Real Estate and Rental and Leasing lost 100 jobs (0.3 percent). The supersector’s monthly growth broke a three-month streak of over-the-month job losses. On the year the supersector added 195 jobs (0.1 percent). This was the lowest proportional over-the-year job growth for the supersector since December of 2014. Finance and Insurance added 706 jobs (0.5 percent), but Real Estate and Rental and Leasing lost 511 (1.4 percent), erasing most of those job gains.
Professional and Business Services employment was down by 1,500 (0.4 percent) in June, after the supersector had gained 1,800 jobs in May. June’s losses were split between two component sectors, as Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services and Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services each lost 800 jobs (0.5 and 0.6 percent, respectively). The third component sector, Management of Companies and Enterprises, added 100 jobs (0.1 percent). Annually the supersector added 2,595 jobs (0.7 percent). Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services added 3,679 jobs (2.3 percent), and Management of Companies and Enterprises added 1,228 (1.5 percent). However, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services lost 2,312 jobs (1.7 percent) entirely caused by the loss of 7,302 (12.7 percent) in the important Employment Services industry.
Educational and Health Services employment was up by 1,500 (0.3 percent) in June. Educational Services drove the growth, adding 1,300 jobs (1.9 percent). Health Care and Social Assistance employment was mostly flat, adding 200 jobs or 0.0 percent. Over the year the supersector added 3,094 jobs (0.6 percent). Educational Services added 4,254 (6.8 percent) while Health Care and Social Assistance lost 1,160 (0.2 percent). The loss was largely in two component industries as Nursing and Residential Care Facilities lost 1,722 jobs (1.6 percent), and Social Assistance lost 1,317 (1.4 percent).
Employment in Leisure and Hospitality was up by 400 (0.1 percent) in June. The increase came after two consecutive months of seasonal job losses. Accommodation and Food Services added 1,300 jobs (0.6 percent) while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation lost 900 (2 percent). Annually the Leisure and Hospitality supersector added 12,103 jobs (4.2 percent). This was a notable jump from May’s 1.8 percent over-the-year growth and the largest proportional increase since March of 2006. Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation added 811 jobs (1.5 percent), and Accommodation and Food Services added 11,292 (4.8 percent).
Other Services employers added 1,500 jobs (1.3 percent) in June, a strong recovery from May’s loss of 300 jobs, which remains the only month in 2019 with negative over-the-month growth for the supersector. Annually the supersector added 174 jobs (0.2 percent). Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations drove the growth, adding 1,315 jobs (2 percent) while the other two component sectors both lost jobs on the year.
Government employers in Minnesota added 200 jobs (0.0 percent) in June. State employers added 200 jobs (0.2 percent), and Local employers added 100 (0.0 percent). Over the year Government added 420 jobs (0.1 percent). State employers added 507 jobs (0.6 percent), and Federal employers added 331 (1 percent), while Local Government employers lost 418 jobs (0.1 percent).
| Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment (in thousands) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | June 2019 | May 2019 | April 2019 |
| Total Nonfarm | 2,963.7 | 2,960.4 | 2,958.4 |
| Goods-Producing | 457.3 | 456.0 | 455.8 |
| Mining and Logging | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
| Construction | 129.0 | 129.2 | 128.1 |
| Manufacturing | 321.4 | 320.0 | 320.9 |
| Service-Providing | 2,506.4 | 2,504.4 | 2,502.6 |
| Trade, Transportation and Utilities | 534.1 | 534.4 | 534.8 |
| Information | 47.3 | 47.5 | 47.6 |
| Financial Activities | 184.6 | 184.2 | 184.9 |
| Professional and Business Services | 377.8 | 379.3 | 377.5 |
| Educational and Health Services | 543.3 | 541.8 | 540.0 |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 278.2 | 277.8 | 277.9 |
| Other Services | 115.2 | 113.7 | 114.0 |
| Government | 425.9 | 425.7 | 425.9 |
| Source: Department of Employment and Economic Development, Current Employment Statistics, 2019. | |||
*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.
