September 2025 - Minnesota Economic Trends
In this issue writers examine key shifts in Minnesota’s labor market. Articles explore wage trajectories of graduates from low-income families compared to their peers; tech occupation domains as a way to surface hybrid IT roles that traditional taxonomies miss; recently released 2022–2023 Nonemployer Statistics with visualizations by industry and demographic characteristics of owners; shifts in the difficulty of landing a job from a new survey of CareerForce workforce practitioners; and projections of green and clean energy employment.
The Effect of Childhood Poverty on the Wages of Minnesota High School Graduates
Childhood poverty is associated with reduced adult earnings. How big is this reduction among Minnesota high school graduates? A new data visualization tool documents the effects of growing up poor on wages and identifies factors that, if not addressed, can perpetuate the cycle of intergenerational poverty. In particular, the article explores the effect of race, school poverty, and postsecondary education on the protracted effect of childhood poverty on adult wages. For example, the study finds that youth of color are more likely to come from low-income families and take longer to attain a family-sustaining wage.
Emerging Technologies in Information Technology Occupations
Information Technology jobs are heavily based on the platforms and technologies that are in use. In the years since the last Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) revision in 2018, those tools have changed rapidly.
Insights from the frontlines: A New Tool Reveals a Shifting Labor Market
Most Minnesota workforce development professionals surveyed say it is harder for job seekers to find employment compared to last year.
What’s Driving the Growth in Self-Employment?
Extending the recent surge in self-employment, new data released by the Census Bureau in May show that Minnesota added nearly 11,000 more nonemployer establishments from 2022 to 2023, a further 2.4% increase.