May's Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Forum highlighted the Office of New Americans and the importance of immigration to Minnesota's economy. We also heard about the Office of Small Business Development from Neela Mollgaard, the Executive Director, and Workforce Development updates from Marc Majors, the Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development.

Office of New Americans Updates

One of DEED's items in the One Minnesota Budget is permanently establishing the Office of New Americans, which will lead the state's initiative to provide comprehensive and accessible services for Minnesota's approximately 500,000 immigrants and refugees.

Deven Bowdry, a legislative liaison at DEED, provided updates on the Office of New Americans (ONA) bill being reviewed by the Minnesota Legislature. At the time of the forum, May 2, the ONA bill had made it through the House and Senate but had different language and proposed funding from each chamber. Since then, we're pleased to report that the House and Senate have approved a compromise bill providing $1.5 million to the program over the FY2024-25 biennium with an additional $1.5 million dedicated to the FY2026-27 biennium. Once the governor signs the bill, it will become law.

The Office of Small Business Development

Neela Mollgaard, the Executive Director of the Office of Small Business Development, gave an overview of her team and available programs and resources. The new office brings together four existing groups at DEED:

• The Small Business Assistance Office: First point of contact for individuals and firms with questions about the startup, operation, or expansion of a business in Minnesota. Contact them at 651-556-8425 or 800-310-8323, or email smallbusiness@state.mn.us.
• Small Business Development Centers: Provides no cost, one-on-one business consulting, group training, and assistance in securing capital. They serve all types and stages of businesses. Over 30 service centers are located across the state.
• Small Business Partnerships Program: DEED partners with non-profit organizations to provide high quality free or low-cost professional business development and technical assistance services.
• Launch Minnesota: A collaborative effort to accelerate the growth of startups and amplify Minnesota as a national leader in innovation.

Neela also went over resources for startups and small businesses that the office provides, including grants, loans, training, and more.

The Importance of Immigration to Minnesota's Economy

Cameron Macht, DEED's regional analysis and outreach manager, spoke about the importance of immigration to Minnesota's economy, and the ways in which immigrants help transform small communities across the state. Cameron discussed Minnesota's tight labor market — since 2017, there has been less than one job seeker for every job vacancy — and the importance of immigrants contributing to many industries.

Nearly 500,000 immigrants call Minnesota home as of 2021, and there are still educational attainment, labor force participation, language, and income and poverty gaps for foreign-born residents. We at DEED know that immigration has been and will continue to be a vital source of new workers for our state, and their full participation in Minnesota's economy will help make our state stronger.

DEED's labor market analysts publish quarterly economic trends articles. Articles of note include:

• Can Regaining Immigration Levels Help Resolve Minnesota's Tight Labor Market?
• Hispanic and Latino Minnesotans: An analysis of employment, educational and other economic trends and disparities related to the labor force
• Black Minnesotans: An analysis of employment, educational and other economic trends and disparities related to the labor force
• The Economic Status of Minnesotans 2023

Workforce Development Updates

Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development Marc Majors spoke about upcoming community engagement sessions focused on meeting with current and prospective grantees and partners around the state.

The goal is to provide information on upcoming DEED competitive grant opportunities available in State Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025 and to solicit community input and feedback. Competitive grants include Pathways to Prosperity (P2P); the Southeast Asian Economic Relief Competitive Grant Program; Support Services Competitive Grant Program; Women in High-Wage, High-Demand, Nontraditional Jobs Grant Program (WESA); and the African Immigrant Workforce Grant. For more information on the Community Engagement Sessions, visit DEED's Community Sessions page.

If you missed this month's forum, access the discussion on DEED's YouTube channel.