St. Paul, MN – Minnesota's unemployment rate in March held at 4.5% while the national rate ticked down one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.3%, according to data released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

"March was closer to a flat month for the state's labor market, which is an improvement over February," said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. "It's good to see some initial signs of stabilization in the unemployment rate and jobs numbers following the peak of Operation Metro Surge – but I continue to believe Minnesota and the nation face a long road to recovery, amidst other headwinds like high energy prices."

Minnesota gained 800 non-farm jobs (essentially flat at 0.0%) over-the-month on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the U.S. total nonfarm employment increased by 178,000 jobs (up 0.1%). The state's private sector gained 600 (holding even at 0.0%) during that period; the U.S. private sector gained 186,000 jobs (up 0.1%).

Minnesota's labor force participation rate ticked down three-tenths of a percentage point to 67.6% over the month. The U.S. labor force participation rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point to 61.9% during this period.

Five supersectors in Minnesota gained jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis since the prior month, led by Professional and Business Services (1,600 jobs, up 0.4%), Manufacturing (1,500 jobs, up 0.5%) and Construction (1,100 jobs, up 0.8%).  Five supersectors lost jobs over the month, led by Trade, Transportation and Utilities (1,900 jobs, down 0.4%). Leisure and Hospitality also saw its third consecutive month of losses (800 jobs, down 0.3%).

Over the year, Minnesota gained 9,246 payroll jobs (up 0.3%). Five supersectors gained, with the largest increases in Education & Health Services (19,230 jobs, up 3.2% and Construction (5,257 jobs, up 4.3%); five supersectors lost jobs. Sectors that experienced the greatest numbers of job losses were Trade, Transportation and Utilities (7,614 jobs, down 1.5%) and Leisure & Hospitality (4,714 jobs, down 1.8%). U.S. employment grew 0.1% over the year, with the private sector up 0.4%. Four supersectors gained jobs at the national level, while seven lost jobs. The Information sector saw the highest percentage of losses at both the state and national levels (down 4.7% state, down 2.9% nationally).

At 32.9 hours per week, Minnesota's March average work week decreased by one-tenth of an hour over the month and over the year. Nationally, the average work week increased one-tenth of an hour to 34.5 hours during that period, with no change over the year.

Calculating seasonally adjusted two-month job changes:

• Minnesota lost 900 jobs in November-January, down 0.03%; the U.S. grew 0.09%.
• Minnesota lost 8,500 jobs in December-February, down 0.28%; the U.S. grew 0.02%.
• Minnesota lost 6,100 jobs in January-March, down 0.2%; the U.S. grew 0.03%.

"It was another challenging month for Minnesota's labor market," said Angelina Nguyen, DEED Labor Market Information director. "We still saw the economic impact of ICE in our state during March so from a data perspective, we're in the middle of this story."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly jobs reports are now caught up from delays stemming from last fall's federal shutdown, which resulted in Minnesota's January, February and March jobs report all being released throughout April. DEED's routine monthly jobs report schedule will resume next month; the April jobs report will be released on May 21.

Visit the DEED website to view full state and national employment statistics, monthly jobs numbers and further analysis of this month's data. In addition, find related articles about job growth and labor market changes in the latest issue of Minnesota Employment Trends. Access resources to help Minnesotans prepare for and find employment now at CareerForceMN.