Manufacturing is the sixth largest industry in Northeast Minnesota, behind health care and social assistance, retail trade, accommodation and food services, educational services and public administration. With 8,588 jobs at 337 establishments, manufacturing accounts for just 6 percent of total employment in the region. That's much less concentrated than the state as a whole, where 11.4 percent of total jobs are in manufacturing.

From 2011 to 2015, manufacturers in Northeast Minnesota lost 362 jobs, a decrease of 4 percent. Northeast Minnesota is the only planning region in the state that lost manufacturing jobs in the past five years. Meanwhile, the state of Minnesota gained 16,347 jobs during this time frame, a 5.4 percent increase.

Paper manufacturing is the largest manufacturing sector in Northeast Minnesota, with 2,044 jobs, but the region also has significant strength in machinery manufacturing (1,153 jobs) and fabricated metal product manufacturing (807 jobs).

Manufacturing is one of the highest paying industries in the region. Total payroll in manufacturing reached $487 million in 2015. That accounted for 8.2 percent of total wages in Northeast Minnesota. Average annual wages in manufacturing in the region were $56,784 in 2015. That was 36 percent higher than average annual wages across all industries. Manufacturing wages in the region increased 5.9 percent from 2011 to 2015, compared to an increase of 10.0 percent for all wages.

Northeast Spotlight: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing to the Rescue

While manufacturing has a lower concentration in the Northeast regional than the state average, what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. As noted, the average annual wage for manufacturing jobs in the region was 36 percent higher – over $15,000 more per year in 2015 – than the average annual wage across all industries.

Despite overall decreases in manufacturing employment in the region, transportation equipment manufacturing has been the fastest growing sub-sector in Northeast Minnesota in the last five years, and recent business development ensures its importance to the region.

In 2015, there were 625 jobs at 11 different businesses classified as transportation equipment manufacturers in Northeast Minnesota. That made up 7.3 percent of all manufacturing jobs in the Arrowhead region, with only paper, wood, machinery, and fabricated metal products employing a bigger share of manufacturing jobs.

Since 2011, the transportation equipment manufacturing subsector has gained 146 jobs, a 30.5 percent increase. That is a significant amount when you consider all of manufacturing sectors in the region combined to lose 362 jobs in the last five years.

An important manufacturer in this growing subsector is Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth, which produces and sells personal aircraft. Earlier this year, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) awarded Cirrus Aircraft a $4 million loan from the Minnesota Investment Fund to “help Cirrus bring its one-of-a-kind single-engine jet to market, while creating 150 good new jobs in Duluth,” according to Lt. Governor Tina Smith.

The loan can be forgiven if the company meets its hiring and investment commitments in the new $12.7 million facility, while the new jobs will pay up $14 an hour plus benefits. Orders for the new jet are soaring, and the manufacturer expects to begin delivery of its single engine jet soon as it completes certification. This project fuels economic vitality in the region and provides an example of successful partnership between manufacturers and DEED in adding and retaining high-quality jobs in Northeast Minnesota.

For more information, contact Erik White, 218-302-8413.