Every quarter, the Labor Market Information (LMI) Office of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) publishes a slate of research articles that offer insights into important labor market trends.

Below are articles featured in the December 2021 edition of Minnesota Economic Trends - select the title to open the full article:

Pandemic-era Job Postings Reveal Top Occupations Offering Remote Work

From June 2020 to October 2021, the share of Minnesota job postings offering the option of working remotely nearly doubled, going from 5.3% to 10.4%. Find out which occupations have the most remote offerings, potential future trends and more in this article.

Minnesota's Border Battles Part 1: Cross-State Commuting Patterns

Minnesota is a net importer of labor, meaning we attract more non-residents to fill jobs than there are residents who leave the state for work. As Minnesota employers look for ways to find new workers, they may want to look for ways they could leverage commuting patterns when attracting talent.

Minnesota's Border Battles Part 2: Occupational Employment Concentrations and Median Wages

From an occupational standpoint, Minnesota shares many similarities with its neighboring states, but there are also some notable differences. First, Minnesota and Wisconsin have by far the largest economies in the five-state region. Second, Minnesota has a greater concentration of jobs in higher-paying service-providing occupational groups than neighboring states. This is a key part of Minnesota's appeal as a net importer of labor.

Q3 Jobs Forecast

Every quarter, LMI analysts look ahead to projected job growth over the coming year. Much of the short-term employment growth projected for the next year can still be attributed to the continued recovery from historic employment losses during the early part of the pandemic. The pandemic will continue to impact the behavior of businesses, workers, and job seekers during the coming months. These pandemic impacts are playing out against larger, long-standing demographic trends.

Minnesota Vacancies Surge in 2021

Through the first 10 months of 2021, Minnesota employers added just over 190,000 jobs back onto their payrolls, climbing back above 2.9 million jobs in October. Though the state is still below pre-pandemic employment levels, this is an encouraging sign of continuing recovery from the COVID-19 recession in 2020. Minnesota's job gains are outpacing the U.S. growth rate so far this year, but much like the past five years, the state's labor market tightness has constrained even faster economic growth.

Minnesota's Aging Workforce

LMI has tracked the aging workforce trend over several decades. This trend toward an older average profile of the workforce will continue as the baby boomer generation continues to age, unless there is an increase in immigration or an unlikely increase in the birth rate. This article reveals how Minnesota's share of older workers has shifted in recent history, as well as how this aging compares with other states and the nation.

You can see an archive of past Minnesota Economic Trends articles on the DEED website.