Minnesota employers added 11,900 jobs in December, according to seasonally adjusted figures released from DEED.

These regions gained jobs in the past 12 months:

• Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area (up 1.4 percent)
• Rochester MSA (up 2.6 percent)
• Cloud MSA (up 2.3 percent)
• Mankato MSA (up 0.1 percent)
• Duluth-Superior MSA (up 0.2 percent).

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Construction, in particular, had a noteworthy year. It was the fastest-growing sector in 2016 – adding more than 7,400 jobs – and growing 6.9 percent, more than four times the pace nationally. For more on employment in the construction industry, check the cover story in the December issue of Minnesota Economic Trends.

Government, education & health care, and professional & business services were also strong sectors.

Wage gains in Minnesota continue to be very strong; private-sector average wages up 5.7% over the year. This is about double the comparable national increase of 2.9%.

In addition to wage rates, here are December leading indicators:

• Workweek – The average workweek of private-sector employees fell three-tenths an hour to 33.9 hours.
• UI benefits – Initial claims for unemployment benefits inched up by 128 to 19,055.

DEED also examines the unemployment rate by race, age and gender and looks at alternative measures of unemployment.

Minnesota unemployment rates by race or ethnicity as of December:

• Black or African American, 8.8 percent, compared to 14.1 percent 12 months ago
• Hispanic or Latino, 5.3 percent, compared to 3.8 percent 12 months ago
• White, 3.0 percent, compared to 2.9 percent 12 months ago
• All workers statewide, 3.9 percent, compared to 3.8 percent 12 months ago.

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