State unemployment rate improves in July

08/16/2005

Associated Press
August 16, 2005

Minnesota’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in July and held for a second month at a low level not seen since before the last recession, the state Department of Employment and Economic Development said today.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.6 percent was a slight improvement over June, when the rate of 3.7 percent clocked in at the lowest level since March 2001. That compares to a national unemployment rate of 5 percent in July.

Minnesota employers added 8,000 jobs in July, with the biggest gains in trade, transportation, utilities and government. More people found work in education, health care and the hospitality industry, while there was essentially no job growth in construction, manufacturing, natural resources or mining.

“By regaining and retaining our pre-recession jobs level, Minnesota is on track for healthy growth,’’ Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Matt Kramer said in a prepared statement.