St. Paul – Minnesota gained 8,000 jobs in September and the labor force grew for the seventh month in a row, adding more than 1,500 workers, according to data released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

Minnesota's job growth last month outpaced that of the U.S. as a whole – up 0.3% in Minnesota compared to 0.2% nationally. Minnesota's unemployment rate remained at 3.1% in September and the labor force participation rate held steady for the third month at 68.5%. Both numbers continue to beat U.S. averages: nationally, the unemployment rate stayed at 3.8% and the labor force participation rate held at 62.8%. 

"Minnesota continues to add jobs and draw more people into the labor force – that's great news," said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. "DEED is focused on helping more people join or rejoin the labor force on in-demand career paths. New DEED programs, like our Drive for 5 Initiative launched last week, will do just that."

Most supersectors in Minnesota gained jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis over the month, including: 

• Education and Health Services grew by 6,000 jobs; Leisure and Hospitality gained 2,400 jobs; Trade, Transportation and Utilities gained 1,900 jobs; and Government gained 1,800 jobs.
• Four supersectors lost jobs in Minnesota, including most notably Professional & Business Services, which lost 3,600 jobs.

Minnesota has added jobs nine out of the last 12 months. Over the year Minnesota gained 49,809 payroll jobs, up 1.7%, and all but three supersectors posted growth.

• Minnesota outpaced the nation in annual growth rate in several sectors, most notably Construction, which gained 7,322 jobs, up 5.1% compared to 2.7% nationally. The strongest over-the-year Construction growth in Minnesota was in Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (8.3%), Building Equipment Contractors (7.6%), and Specialty Trade Contractors (5.8%). Every construction subsector added jobs over the year, indicating both private and public sector growth for this supersector.
• The Manufacturing sector lost 1,721 jobs in Minnesota down 0.5%. But job losses were mostly confined to Nondurable Goods, especially Animal Slaughtering and Processing (-7.7%) and Food Manufacturing (-2.7%).

"Over-the-year job growth remains positive and steady for Minnesota, especially in the Construction and Trade, Transportation & Utilities supersectors," said DEED Labor Market Information Office Director Angelina Nguyễn. "This is a good sign of long-term investment in and development of our state's infrastructure."

Visit the DEED website to view state and national employment statistics, monthly jobs numbers and data. You can also find alternative measures of unemployment on the DEED website. In addition, see related articles about job growth and labor market changes in the latest issue of Minnesota Employment Trends. Access resources to help Minnesotans prepare for and find employment now at CareerForceMN.com/GoodJobsNow.