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Southwest Region

southwest minnesota mapSouthwest Minnesota is a national leader in agricultural production, and renewable energy.

The region's thriving manufacturing sector includes food processing, machinery, printing, metal products, and computers and electronic products.

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Unemployment Insurance Claims in Southwest Minnesota

12/23/2024 1:42:47 PM

Luke Greiner, Amanda Blaschko

Low unemployment rates, coupled with declining Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims, reflect a resilient labor market in Southwest Minnesota. With unemployment rates dropping back to 2.3% in October of 2024, Southwest Minnesota had the second lowest rate of the six planning regions in the state. However, challenges such as labor force shortages and sector-specific demands persist. Addressing these issues through workforce development and strategic planning will be crucial for sustaining economic growth in the region.

UI claims serve as a timely measure of layoffs and economic shifts. After a spike in claims during the early months of the pandemic, data indicates that individuals in Southwest Minnesota have been returning to work, as evidenced by declining UI claims. There were just 948 Initial Claims filed in October of 2024, down from 1,201 in September and down from 959 in October 2023. Claims spiked in 2020 during the pandemic, but are back down to historically low levels now (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Total Initial Claims in Southwest Minnesota, October 1999-2024

In addition to the total number, UI claims include a lot of demographic details that help provide insight into recent economic shifts and seasonality. In October 2024, males filed nearly two-thirds (64.0%) of initial claims, compared to one-third of claims filed by females. In general, males account for the majority of claims filed in the fall and winter months due to their higher concentration of workers in industries like Construction and Manufacturing; while females account for more claims in the spring and summer months due to employment in Educational Services.

By age, nearly half (49%) of initial UI claims in October were filed by workers between 30 and 49 years, while 18.5% were aged 50 to 59 and 14.6% were 22 to 29 years. Typically younger workers make up a slightly larger chunk of total claims, but Construction claims are down this year in comparison to past years. By educational attainment, well over half (57.5%) of claims were filed by workers with a High School diploma or less, compared to 30.9% of workers with some college or an associate degree and just 11.6% of workers that have a bachelor's degree or higher (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: October 2024 UI Claims Filed by Education in Southwest Minnesota

The two largest industries for UI claims filed in October were Manufacturing (233 initial claims) and Construction (184 initial claims), accounting for half (50.9%) of total initial claims in the month. While Construction claims are lower than in years past, Manufacturing claims are slightly higher, so the overall share is within a typical range (see Figure 3). In contrast, back in May and June, the largest number of claims were filed in Educational Services.

Figure 3: October 2024 UI Claims Field by Industry in Southwest Minnesota

Jobseekers who need help getting back to work after being laid off can access the services of CareerForce in the region. This includes the Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council and the South Central Workforce Council.

For More Information

Contact Luke Greiner at luke.greiner@state.mn.us or Amanda Blaschko at amanda.blaschko@state.mn.us.

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