Minnesota's jobless rate lowest in 8 years

ST. PAUL - August was a good month for Minnesota businesses and workers, the state Department of Employment and Economic Development reported Thursday.
Employers added 6,100 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest point in almost eight years, 4.3 percent, DEED said in its monthly jobs report.
The nationwide unemployment rate was 6.1 percent.
“Our state has added nearly 203,000 jobs since hitting the low point of the recession in September 2009,” DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben said in a news release. “The August employment figures are great news and a reflection of Minnesota’s healthy and growing economy.”
DEED’s figures show Minnesota has gained 56,311 jobs in the past year. That marks a 2 percent increase, higher than the national growth of 1.8 percent. The Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Statistical Area - which includes all of St. Louis, Carlton and Douglas counties - has gained 947 jobs in the past year, a 0.7 percent increase. Other parts of the state reporting job growth in the past year included the Twin Cities (2.3 percent), St. Cloud (2.9 percent), Mankato (2.6 percent) and Rochester (0.9 percent).
The construction and professional and business services sectors led the way in August job advances. Also up were jobs in the following sectors: manufacturing; information services; government; logging; mining; trade, transportation and utilities; and education and health services.
Financial, leisure and hospitality job numbers fell last month.