by Nick Dobbins
June 2014
Monthly analysis is based on unadjusted employment data.
Employment increased in May without seasonal adjustment, as the summer labor market began to ramp up in earnest. The metro added 27,028 jobs for the month, an increase of 1.5 percent over April's total. Among the industry groups with the largest gains were those we would expect to improve along with the weather: Leisure and Hospitality (up 10,219 or 6 percent) and Mining, Logging, and Construction (up 6,445, 11 percent). Significant job growth also occurred in the Professional and Business Services industry group which added 6,129 jobs or 2.3 percent, largely from a spike of 4,709 or 5 percent in Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services. The most notable losses came from Educational and Health Services where employment dropped by 1,279 (0.4 percent) caused by a decrease of 3,042 (6.3 percent) in Educational Services as the industry began contracting for the summer. Employment has also shown improvement on a yearly basis, adding 28,700 (1.6 percent) over May 2013.
Employment continued its growth in May, adding 1,602 jobs (1.2 percent) over April levels. Increases were dispersed across the market; the only supersectors to show employment declines were Educational and Health Services (down 113 or 0.4 percent) and Information (down 12, 0.9 percent). Industry groups displaying the greatest gains for the month were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (up 336, 1.4 percent), Mining, Logging, and Construction (323, 3.9 percent), Leisure and Hospitality (585, 4.2 percent), and Professional and Business Services (163, 2.2 percent). For the year, employment is more or less flat, with an estimated increase of 96 jobs or 0.1 percent over May 2013, with service providers adding jobs as goods producers were losing them.
Employment showed a significant increase for May, adding 1,124 jobs (1 percent) over April totals. In addition to the expected warm-weather increases in Leisure and Hospitality (up 351 or 3.8 percent) and Mining, Logging, and Construction (150 or 4.5 percent) the metro area also benefited from a marked increase in Manufacturing employment which grew by 329 or 3.4 percent over the month. The only industry groups to show any employment decline were Educational and Health Services (down 54 or 0.1 percent) and Financial Activities (down 9 or 0.3 percent). Annually, employment is also up, although not as dramatically, with 438 jobs (0.4 percent) more than in May 2013.
The Saint Cloud MSA continued its strong employment growth in May, adding 2,368 (2.3 percent) for the month. Gains were largely driven by a dramatic increase in Mining, Logging, and Construction which grew by 2,042 jobs in May, a 43.8 percent increase over April estimates. Other significant changes include the addition of 410 jobs (2.8 percent) in Manufacturing and a loss of 425 jobs (2.6 percent) in Government. Saint Cloud's strong performance extends over the past year as well, with the metro currently supporting an estimated 4,003 (3.9 percent) more jobs than at the same time last year.
Employment improved slightly in May, adding 107 jobs (0.2 percent) over the previous month's estimates. A loss of 139 (0.3 percent) from service providers was more than made up for by a gain of 246 (2.5 percent) by goods producers, while private sector gains (up 355, 0.8 percent) overcame government losses (down 248, 2.7 percent). For the year, the metro has added 1,102 jobs (2 percent) with increases among goods producers and service providers. Government employment is down 501 (5.4 percent) from May 2013.
Employment grew by 2,134 (1.6 percent) in May. Employment was up or flat in most industry groups, with the largest gains coming in Mining, Logging, and Construction (up 922 or 10.1 percent) and Leisure and Hospitality (837, 6.3 percent), with the most significant losses coming in Educational and Health Services (down 311, 1.4 percent). The yearlong changes also show strong growth in the area, with an increase of 4,991 (3.8 percent) over May 2013. The largest annual employment gain by a wide margin was found in Mining, Logging, and Construction which added 1,233 jobs (15.2 percent).
Employment was down slightly in May, losing 421 jobs (0.6 percent), to bring them to 56,044 total jobs. The only notable employment gains came in Mining, Logging, and Construction, which was up 341, or 11.8 percent). Government was the most dramatic job loser, down 590 or 4.0 percent. For the year, employment is down 460 (0.8 percent) with Government again leading the job shedders, down 735 or 4.9 percent from May 2013.
