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The Metro Area saw its fifth-steepest annual loss of employment since 2000.
7/15/2026 4:10:50 PM
Tim O'Neill
Fresh out of collection, and all the processes of quality control and validation thereafter, comes the latest /deed/data/data-tools/qcew/index.jspQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data for the first quarter of 2026. This data provides an thorough review of industry employment and wage information at the state, regional, county and city levels across Minnesota. Let's take an in-depth look into what the latest numbers say for the Seven-County Twin Cities Metro Area's industry employment and trends.
According to the most recent QCEW release, the Metro Area had over 92,400 establishments supplying just over 1,734,600 covered payroll jobs. It should be noted that first quarter data is, on average, the lowest for employment levels in the region each year – typically employment peaks in the second and third quarters. Since 2000, for example, there has been an average employment bump of 2.4% between quarter 1 and quarter 2. This is equivalent to an average of 38,600 additional jobs. Much of this increase is due to significant seasonality in industries such as Construction and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation.
Regardless of seasonality, we can dig into this first quarter data and learn how the Metro Area's industry employment is trending over time. Comparing data back to 2000, there's been a lot of ups and downs. After losing about 96,400 jobs during the Great Recession (-6.0%), the region went on a tear gaining over 257,000 jobs (+17.2%) between 2010 and 2020, the longest-running economic expansion on record.
Then nearly half of this decade-long gain was wiped out in one year due to the Pandemic Recession, as the region lost over 125,600 jobs (-7.1%) between 2020 and 2021. But the region rebounded, adding back over 90% of these lost jobs between 2021 and 2025. Most recently, between 2025 and 2026, the Metro Area's total employment dipped by just over 12,000 jobs. While this loss was minor (-0.7%), it represents the fifth-steepest annual loss of employment in the region dating back to 2000. In fact, the region has only witnessed seven years of over-the-year employment loss in the past 26 years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2021 and 2026) (Figure 1).
With over half of the Metro Area's major industry sectors losing jobs between the first quarters of 2025 and 2026, it's clear to see why the region's total employment was down during that period. The industries experiencing the most employment loss included Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (-2,619 jobs); Retail Trade (-2,526 jobs); Wholesale Trade (-2,514 jobs); Accommodation & Food Services (-2,492 jobs); Management of Companies (-2,336 jobs); Manufacturing (-2,132 jobs); Real Estate & Rental & Leasing (-2,121 jobs); and Information (-2,048 jobs).
On the other side of the scale, Health Care & Social Assistance bolstered the regional economy with an additional 9,356 jobs over the year (+3.0%). Growth was also witnessed in Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (+807 jobs); Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (+387 jobs); Construction (+164 jobs); Utilities (+141 jobs); and Mining (+111 jobs) (Table 1).
| Industry | Number of Jobs | Share of Total Jobs | Number of Establishments | Avg. Annual Wage | Q1 2025 – Q1 2026 Job Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numeric | Percent | |||||
| Total, All Industries | 1,734,608 | 100.0% | 92,428 | $93,964 | -12,030 | -0.7% |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 324,370 | 18.7% | 15,654 | $69,420 | +9,356 | +3.0% |
| Manufacturing | 167,372 | 9.6% | 3,835 | $108,472 | -2,132 | -1.3% |
| Retail Trade | 147,359 | 8.5% | 7,944 | $44,824 | -2,526 | -1.7% |
| Educational Services | 145,381 | 8.4% | 2,426 | $65,104 | -191 | -0.1% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 127,350 | 7.3% | 6,448 | $31,044 | -2,492 | -1.9% |
| Professional, Sci., & Technical Services | 120,052 | 6.9% | 11,751 | $142,480 | -2,619 | -2.1% |
| Finance & Insurance | 97,283 | 5.6% | 4,989 | $223,340 | -1,851 | -1.9% |
| Public Administration | 79,720 | 4.6% | 768 | $90,636 | -507 | -0.6% |
| Administrative & Support Services | 79,381 | 4.6% | 4,635 | $59,436 | +50 | +0.1% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 79,128 | 4.6% | 2,071 | $83,200 | -512 | -0.6% |
| Wholesale Trade | 74,861 | 4.3% | 5,113 | $132,080 | -2,514 | -3.2% |
| Construction | 73,696 | 4.2% | 7,047 | $109,408 | +164 | +0.2% |
| Management of Companies | 69,580 | 4.0% | 1,031 | $208,156 | -2,336 | -3.2% |
| Other Services | 54,174 | 3.1% | 10,239 | $53,456 | -1,199 | -2.2% |
| Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation | 34,096 | 2.0% | 1,863 | $57,772 | +807 | +2.4% |
| Information | 25,612 | 1.5% | 1,991 | $149,760 | -2,048 | -7.4% |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 24,393 | 1.4% | 4,169 | $88,608 | -2,121 | -8.0% |
| Utilities | 7,126 | 0.4% | 126 | $186,888 | +141 | +2.0% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 3,133 | 0.2% | 289 | $50,232 | +387 | +14.1% |
| Mining | 533 | 0.0% | 39 | $216,372 | +111 | +26.3% |
Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Check out DEED's /deed/data/data-tools/qcew/index.jspQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages to learn more about the Metro Area's recent industry employment. Users can zoom in on in-depth industry sectors, as well as the region's counties and cities.
To discover more about the Twin Cities Metro Area, contact Tim O'Neill, Labor Market Analyst, at Timothy.ONeill@state.mn.us.
