This issue of Trends includes a cover story by Steve Hine and Cameron Macht about the growing number of immigrants in the Minnesota workforce. With the labor market tightening as baby boomers retire, foreign-born workers are becoming increasingly crucial in helping employers fill openings.
Other stories in this issue look at disappearing middle-wage jobs in the state, the gender wage gap in the health care and social assistance sector, where women rank among top wage earners by industry in Minnesota, and overall wage growth driven by competition for workers.
Download the full pdf file or select the links below to view individual stories.
While Minnesota has fewer immigrants proportionally than many other parts of the country, foreign-born residents are an increasingly important part of the state economy.
Since 2010, more than half of the state’s labor force growth has come from foreign-born workers. Immigrants now account for 10 percent of the total available labor force in Minnesota, up from 7.5 percent just one decade earlier
Jobs are growing at a steady pace in low- and high-wage fields in Minnesota, but many middle-wage occupations are stagnant or shrinking, particularly in rural Minnesota.
For a variety of reasons, including gender bias, women earn 28.3 percent less than men in health care and social assistance jobs.
With the labor market tightening, Minnesota workers are finally taking home higher paychecks.
Women are less likely than men to be top wage earners in their fields in Minnesota, even in industries where women generally do well.
