By Nick Dobbins
May 2022
Monthly analysis is based on seasonally adjusted employment data.
Yearly analysis is based on unadjusted employment data.
Minnesota employers added 11,900 jobs (0.4%) on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, the seventh consecutive month of growth for the state. Service providers added 11,300 jobs (0.5%) while goods producers added 600 (0.1%).
Over the year employers added 61,139 jobs (2.2%). Goods producers added 10,789 jobs (2.5%), and service providers added 50,350 (2.1%). Private sector employers added 61,008 jobs (2.5%) while public sector employment was mostly flat (up 131 jobs, 0.0%).
Mining and Logging employers lost 200 jobs (2.9%) over the month in April on a seasonally adjusted basis. It was the first monthly job loss in the supersector since September 2021.
On an annual basis Mining and Logging employers lost 85 jobs (1.3%). While it was one of only three supersectors to shed jobs on the year, employment in Mining and Logging is also highly contingent on weather, and it is possible that inclement conditions in April hindered employment growth.
Construction employers lost 1,000 jobs (0.8%) over the month in April, following two months of slight growth.
The supersector lost 4,988 jobs (4%) over the year, after posting flat or positive growth in every month since February of 2021. Given the highly seasonal nature of work in the supersector, it is likely that cold and wet weather across the state in April slowed what is usually a time of rapidly increasing employment in Construction.
Employment in Manufacturing was up 1,800 jobs (0.6%) over the month in April. Both component sectors posted positive growth, with Durable Goods adding 700 jobs (0.3%) and Non-Durable Goods adding 1,100 (0.9%). It was the seventh consecutive month of seasonally adjusted growth for the supersector.
Over the year Manufacturing employers added 15,862 jobs or 5.2%. It was the second-highest proportional growth of any supersector in the state, trailing only Leisure and Hospitality. Non-Durable Goods employment was up 6.4% (6,993 jobs) while their counterparts in Durable Goods were up 4.5% (8,869 jobs).
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities employers lost 1,700 jobs (0.3%) in April, with losses in all three component sectors. It was the first negative monthly growth in the supersector since October 2021. The largest real and proportional declines came in Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities, which shed 700 jobs or 0.6%.
Over the year, employment in the supersector was up by 1% (4,817 jobs). Wholesale Trade lost 2,093 jobs (1.7%), but those losses were overcome by the addition of 2,019 jobs (0.7%) in Retail Trade and 4,891 jobs (4.8%) in Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities.
Employment in Information was flat in April, holding at 43,400 seasonally-adjusted jobs.
Over the year Information employers added 1,273 jobs or 3%. While the long-term trend in Information is still for negative growth, the supersector has added jobs on an annual basis every month since November.
Financial Activities employers added 4,700 jobs (2.5%) over the month in April. It was the highest proportional growth of any supersector in the state for the month. Finance and Insurance added 3,700 jobs (2.4%) while Real Estate and Rental and Leasing added 1,000 (2.8%).
On an annual basis employment in Financial Activities was up 1.2% or 2,274 jobs. The growth was entirely in Real Estate and Rental and Leasing, which added 2,444 jobs (7.3%), with most of that in the Rental and Leasing components. Finance and Insurance employers lost 170 jobs or 0.1%.
Employment in Professional and Business Services was up by 3,900 (1%) in April. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services employment was up 1.4% (2,200 jobs) while Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services was up 1.7% (also 2,200 jobs). Management of Companies and Enterprises lost 500 jobs (0.6%).
Over the year the supersector added 10,737 jobs (2.9%). Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services added 7,408 jobs (4.7%). Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services added 3,537 jobs (2.8%) with component Employment Services adding 1,703 of those jobs (up 3.1%). Management of Companies was down 0.2% (208 jobs) on the year.
Educational and Health Services employment was mostly flat in April, adding 200 jobs (0.0%). Educational Services lost 900 jobs (1.3%) while Health Care and Social Assistance added 1,100 jobs (0.2%).
Over the year Educational and Health Services employment was also mostly flat, losing 65 jobs or 0.0%. Educational Services added 2,518 jobs (3.5%), but Health Care and Social Assistance was off by 2,583 (0.5%) in large part from the loss of 5,204 jobs (5%) in Nursing and Residential Care Facilities, where finding workers has been a highly publicized issue in recent months.
Employment in Leisure and Hospitality was up 2,700 (1.1%) in April, with Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation up 2,300 jobs (5.2%) and Accommodation and Food Services up 400 (0.2%). The supersector has posted monthly growth consistently since September of 2021 and in fifteen of the past sixteen months as it works its way back from pandemic-related losses.
Over the year Leisure and Hospitality employers added 27,585 jobs or 12.9%. While that is lower than March's 18% over-the-year growth, it remains the largest real and proportional growth of any supersector in the state.
Other Services employment was up by 200 (0.2%) in April after two consecutive months of seasonally adjusted losses.
Over the year the supersector added 3,598 jobs or 3.5%. Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations drove that growth, adding 3,152 jobs or 5.5%. Repair and Maintenance employment was off by 217 jobs (1%) on the year.
Government employment was up 1,300 (0.3%) over the month in April. The growth came entirely at the Local Government level (up 0.5%) as both State and Federal employment was flat on the month.
Over the year Government employers added 131 jobs (0.0%). Local Government was up 1,599 (0.6%), while Federal employers lost 695 jobs (2.1%), and State employers lost 773 (0.8%).
