This edition of Minnesota Economic Trends includes articles that examine reemployment after COVID-19 layoffs in Minnesota and who is getting left behind, plus how unemployment insurance benefits worked to replace income for those laid off during the pandemic, as well as gender wage gaps post-high school for students who participate in Career and Technical Education, among other articles.
Among Minnesota workers laid off during the initial months of the pandemic, who regained employment most quickly? And who suffered the most time out of work and experienced the greatest loss of wages? This article seeks to answer those questions and others by examining spring 2021 employment status of Minnesotans eligible for Unemployment Insurance who filed for benefits in the initial months of the pandemic.
Gender wage gaps are evident for students who participate in Career and Technical Education (CTE) because female-dominated professions provide fewer opportunities for career preparation during high school than male-dominated professions. CTE can contribute toward addressing this equity issue.
After two long years dealing with COVID-19, employment in Minnesota is expected to continue to recover in both the short-term and the long-term, according to new projections from DEED. The state is projected to add about 170,000 jobs from 2020 through 2030.
While the majority of Minnesota’s total jobs are held by white workers, recent and historical trends show the state’s workforce is becoming increasingly diverse. In fact, when compared to states with similar employment levels to ours, Minnesota had the most rapid growth of non-white workers between 2010 and 2020.
We all know that the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on jobs, at least in the short term. But taking a deeper dive into each major industry, and subsectors within those industries, reveals the disparate impact the pandemic had on employment.