State adds 6,400 jobs in September

Unemployment rate drops to 3.7 percent

Minnesota employers added 6,400 jobs in September, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). 

The state has gained 41,259 jobs over the past year, an increase of 1.4 percent. U.S. job growth in the past 12 months was 1.2 percent. 

Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.1 percent in September to 3.7 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in September. 

“Minnesota’s job expansion is now eight years strong, with the state adding more than 337,000 jobs since September 2009,” said DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy. “During that period, the overall unemployment rate fell from 7.9 percent to the current low of 3.7 percent. Minnesota’s economy is headed in the right direction.” 

Professional and business services led all sectors in September with 3,600 new jobs. Other sectors gaining jobs were education and health services (up 2,000), government (up 1,700), other services (up 1,400), financial activities (up 700), trade, transportation and utilities (up 600) and logging and mining (up 200). Manufacturing was unchanged. 

The following sectors lost jobs in September: information (down 1,700), leisure and hospitality (down 1,700) and construction (down 400). 

Over the past year, 10 of the state’s 11 industrial sectors have gained jobs, led by education and health services (up 15,511). Other job gains were posted by construction (up 6,239), other services (up 4,246), trade, transportation and utilities (up 4,156), government (up 3,362), manufacturing (up 3,051), professional and business services (up 2,886), leisure and hospitality (up 2,104), logging and mining (up 619) and financial activities (up 425). 

Information (down 1,340) is the only major sector that lost jobs in the past 12 months. 

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