Minnesota’s 3.1 unemployment rate for December is now at its lowest level in 17 years. But even more noteworthy this month was the unemployment rate for Black Minnesotans, a measure DEED has tracked since 2001. The 12-month average unemployment rate for Minnesota’s black population fell to 7.5 percent, its lowest rate on record. The unemployment rate for the state’s black population was 8.0 in November 2017.

You can examine the unemployment rate by race, age and gender and look at alternative measures of unemployment, which provides a more complete picture of the labor market.

As of December 2017, Minnesota’s over-the-year changes in unemployment rate by race or ethnicity includes:

• Black or African American, 7.5 percent, compared to 8.8 percent in December 2016.
• White, 2.9 percent, and 3.0 percent in December 2016.
• Hispanic or Latino, 5.0 percent, compared to 5.3 percent in December 2016.

As of December 2017, Minnesota’s over-the-year changes in unemployment rate by age and gender includes:

• Teens (age 16-19), 9.8 percent, compared to 10.1 percent in December 2016.
• Men, 4.1 percent, compared to 4.5 percent in December 2016.
• Women, 2.6 percent, compared to 3.2 percent in November 2016.

This year DEED will continue its work connecting people of color, indigenous communities and people with disabilities, to employment and training opportunities to ensure their success.

The state gained 8,900 jobs in December. Over the past year, Minnesota gained 44,200 jobs, a growth rate of 1.5 percent, matching the US rate of growth last year. Read the numbers.

• Leisure and hospitality gained 1,800 jobs over the month with most coming from Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (up 1,400) and Accommodation and Food Services (up 400).
• Manufacturing lost 600 jobs over the month, with losses in durable goods (down 200) and non-durable goods (down 400); however, Manufacturing is now in its eighth month of over-the-year growth.
• Construction added 5,700 jobs. The construction industry in Minnesota has grown over the year for the entire duration of 2017.
• The private sector average work week dropped from 34.1 hours in November to 33.9 hours in December; and the private sector average wage rate remained a constant $28.59 per hour. This reduced wage gains to 74 cents (2.7 percent) in December.

Metropolitan Statistical Areas

Job gains in three MSAs – Minneapolis-St. Paul, Duluth-Superior, and Mankato – outpace the state as a whole in annual rate of growth (1.6 percent), yet all MSAs show job gains in the past 12 months:

• Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA (up 2.4 percent)
• Duluth-Superior MSA (up 2.1 percent)
• Rochester MSA (up 0.1 percent)
• St. Cloud MSA (up 1.2 percent)
• Mankato MSA (up 1.7 percent)

Compare Minnesota

Minneapolis-St. Paul has the fourth lowest commute time (25.2 minutes), ranks 10th in per capita personal income ($56,723), and tops the 30 largest US metro areas in number of Fortune 500 headquarters per 1 million people.

Compare Minneapolis-St. Paul shows how the metro compares with other major metropolitan areas in business climate, major industries, economic performance, labor, innovation, energy, and quality of life. To see more, go to Compare Minneapolis-St. Paul.