June 2026 - Minnesota Economic Trends
The June 2026 edition of Minnesota Economic Trends offers a comprehensive look at how Minnesota’s labor market and economy have evolved over the past year. This annual "state-of-the-state" issue from DEED's Labor Market Information (LMI) Office highlights statewide job growth and employment shifts, and provides more in-depth regional snapshots for each of the six planning areas.
Signs of Stress: Minnesota’s Labor Market 2026
According to Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates, employment growth remained positive through most of 2025 and early 2026, though it slowed significantly over previous years.
Labor Pains: Central Minnesota’s Economy Pushes Through 2025
Central Minnesota’s economy remained stable in 2025, with a growing labor force but slowing job growth and uneven industry performance. Health Care continued to expand while sectors like Manufacturing lost jobs, highlighting a labor market where workers and employers aren’t connecting as smoothly as in earlier recovery years.
New Realities in the Metro Area’s Labor Market
The Twin Cities Metro is seeing slower job growth and rising unemployment as long-term demographic shifts meet short-term labor market changes, but strong gains in Health Care & Social Assistance continue to anchor the region. Overall, the labor market is becoming more diverse and older, with employers and jobseekers needing to adapt to shifting industry demands.
Northeast Minnesota’s Workforce: Cooling Momentum
Northeast Minnesota’s labor market is beginning to cool, with slowing labor force growth, rising unemployment, and employment still below pre pandemic levels, even as wages continue to climb. Despite broad industry declines, Health Care and Manufacturing remain key areas of stability and growth in the region.
The State of Northwest Minnesota's Labor Market: Loosening but Not Unraveling
Northwest Minnesota's labor market is loosening, but the story is more nuanced than a rising unemployment rate suggests. A labor force larger than at any point in over a decade, driven by in-migration, is boosting labor supply while hiring has ebbed. Meanwhile, industry data reveal two parallel economies: demographically inevitable health care growth, and a broad softening in manufacturing, trade, and other discretionary or cyclical sectors. These trends raise questions about current and future labor market conditions.
Labor Market Shifts in Southeast Minnesota: Job Growth, Wages, and the Next Generation of Workers
Southeast Minnesota’s labor market is loosening but still adding jobs, with strong growth in Health Care and Construction leading the way while other industries contract. Wages remain competitive in several key occupations, as more high school graduates are entering the workforce directly rather than heading straight to college.
Population Shift and Workforce Drift in Southwest Minnesota
Southwest Minnesota is slowly growing and diversifying, with population gains driven by international migration and an economy shifting from Manufacturing toward expanding sectors like Health Care.