local-look-northwest

<results><page>0</page><page>20</page><page>124</page><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>While unemployment remains historically low, other recent labor market information shows a job market less favorable to job seekers.</Description><Audience/><Title>Recent Data Reveal Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Loosening Labor Market</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Recent Data Reveal Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Loosening Labor Market</Title><title>2025-08-26 Loosening ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-703338&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2025-08-27T16:40:37Z</Date><ShortDescription>The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) for first quarter 2025 shows a slight 0.2% employment decline (-440 jobs) for Northwest Minnesota compared to first quarter 2024. </ShortDescription><Subtitle>While unemployment remains historically low, other recent labor market information shows a job market less favorable to job seekers.</Subtitle><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/laus/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;unemployment&lt;/a&gt; remains historically low, other recent labor market information shows a job market less favorable to job seekers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/a&gt; for first quarter 2025 shows a slight 0.2% employment decline (-440 jobs) for Northwest Minnesota compared to first quarter 2024 (Figure 1). Such a small over-the-year decline in just one quarter could be a meaningless anomaly. The first quarter has the lowest employment of the year due to winter conditions, making this time of the year more susceptible to short-term variation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082625_NW_figure1_tcm1045-703263.png&quot; title=&quot;First Quarter Employment in Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;First Quarter Employment in Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 80%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082625_NW_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The job market has been consistently strong before the pandemic, in the recovery and through 2024. Looking back to 2015, the only other over-the-year employment declines in the Northwest were associated with the pandemic, and those were massively larger drops. This raises an important question: Is there corroborating evidence that the labor market is genuinely softening?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The answer appears to be yes. Softening job trends are not isolated to Northwest Minnesota (Figure 2). Three other Minnesota regions show slight declines, while the remaining three have stagnant or slowing employment growth. This pattern looks too pervasive to be an anomaly, yet if the labor market were significantly cooling, we would expect to see it reflected in unemployment rates.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082625_NW_figure2_tcm1045-703264.png&quot; title=&quot;Over-the-Year Percent Change in First Quarter Employment by Region&quot; alt=&quot;Over-the-Year Percent Change in First Quarter Employment by Region&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082625_NW_figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While the region&apos;s unemployment rate has been ticking up, it is from historically low levels. Even at 4.6% so far in 2025, that remains lower than in each of the five years prior to the pandemic, when it hovered between 4.7% and 5.5% (Figure 3).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082625_NW_figure3_tcm1045-703265.png&quot; title=&quot;January to June Average Unemployment Rates&quot; alt=&quot;January to June Average Unemployment Rates&quot; style=&quot;width: 90%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082625_NW_figure3&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even with a slight decline in jobs, the unemployment rate suggests the job market is returning to pre-pandemic normalcy rather than experiencing significant deterioration. However, the unemployment rate alone misses a crucial dynamic that &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2024/fewer-openings-harder-to-get-hired-us-labor-market-likely-softer-than-it-appears&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;a Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis analysis reveals: job seekers are having considerably more difficulty finding employment than they did in 2019&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This phenomenon—which the popular press has dubbed the &quot;no hire, no fire&quot; job market – reflects &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/05/31/long-term-unemployment-2-year-high/83909279007/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;employers&apos; reluctance to both lay off existing workers and hire new ones&lt;/a&gt;. While layoffs haven&apos;t increased substantially, the path from unemployment to employment has become notably more challenging.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The continuing unemployment claims data for Northwest Minnesota show this is also the case here (Figure 4). &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/unemployment-insurance-statistics/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Unemployment Insurance (UI) continuing claims&lt;/a&gt; for the first seven months of the year are higher in 2025 than in 2017, 2018, and 2019. This indicates that Northwest Minnesota job seekers are experiencing longer periods of unemployment than in the three years prior to the pandemic – a clear sign that finding work has become more difficult, even in a relatively stable employment environment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082625_NW_figure4_tcm1045-703266.png&quot; title=&quot;January to July Average Unemployment Insurance Continuing Claims&quot; alt=&quot;January to July Average Unemployment Insurance Continuing Claims&quot; style=&quot;width: 90%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082625_NW_figure4&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Thus, recent data on jobs and UI continuing claims suggest the Northwest labor market has recently softened more than before the pandemic, reflecting a broader national trend. While unemployment remains historically low, the underlying dynamics have shifted significantly. Job seekers face a more challenging environment with longer search periods and fewer opportunities, even as employers maintain their existing workforce. For workforce development and economic development professionals, this &quot;no hire, no fire&quot; reality demands strategies that address both the extended job search process and the evolving needs of employers who have become more selective in their hiring practices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about unemployment in Northwest Minnesota, contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.Schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.Schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>703338</id><pubdate>2025-08-27T17:49:26Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>The 2024 population estimates were recently released, continuing a growth trend driven entirely by people moving into the region rather than natural population increase.</Description><Audience/><Title>Net Migration Continues to Drive Northwest Minnesota Population and Workforce Growth</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Net Migration Continues to Drive Northwest Minnesota Population and Workforce Growth</Title><title>2025-07-22 Growth ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-699257&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2025-07-23T16:40:37Z</Date><ShortDescription>Continuing a growth trend driven entirely by people moving into the region rather than natural population increase. </ShortDescription><Subtitle>The 2024 population estimates were recently released, showing Northwest Minnesota’s population increased by 1,366 people</Subtitle><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2024 population estimates&lt;/a&gt; were recently released, showing Northwest Minnesota&apos;s population increased by 1,366 people – continuing a growth trend driven entirely by people moving into the region rather than natural population increase. This analysis updates findings from my &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/649867&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;October 2024 blog&lt;/a&gt; examining Northwest population trends from 2020-2023. The new data shows the migration-driven growth pattern has not only continued but strengthened in terms of working-age population gains.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This migration-driven growth represents a significant shift for Northwest, where negative natural change (more deaths than births) has become the norm since 2021. The region&apos;s population gains now depend completely on attracting new residents from elsewhere – a trend that has important implications for the local workforce and economy (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/072225_NW_figure1_tcm1045-699259.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Natural Change and Net Migration&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Natural Change and Net Migration&quot; style=&quot;width: 90%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;072225_NW_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Migration Remains the Sole Driver of Population Growth&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Population increases in two ways: more people are born than die (positive natural change), or more people move in than move out (positive net migration). In Northwest, all recent growth comes from positive net migration.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The estimated population increase in 2024 topped the 1,295 people added in 2023.  This was both from increased net domestic migration (moves within the U.S.) as well as increased international net migration (moves to and from other countries).  These gains more than overcame the population loss from deaths exceeding births by 1,133 (Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/072225_NW_figure2_tcm1045-699258.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Births, Deaths, and Natural Change&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Births, Deaths, and Natural Change&quot; style=&quot;width: 90%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;072225_NW_figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Natural Change Continues Its Downward Trend&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Natural change turned negative in 2021 and has remained so, with the deficit deepening in 2024. The negative natural change in 2021 and 2022 resulted primarily from increased deaths, while in 2023 and 2024, deaths stabilized but births declined further.
&lt;br /&gt;
Births have trended downward since 2017 (except for a small increase in 2022), reflecting broader demographic patterns. This declining birth trend matches statewide and national patterns – &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.statista.com/statistics/195908/number-of-births-in-the-united-states-since-1990/#:~:text=Published%20by,this%20figure%20was%204.16%20million.&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;births have been declining nationwide since 2007, as they have across Europe&lt;/a&gt;. The decline isn&apos;t simply due to an aging population; &lt;a href=&quot;https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/145588&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;the U.S. fertility rate has also been declining since 2007&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given this context, it&apos;s more remarkable that Northwest Minnesota maintained steady birth numbers from 2010 to 2017 than that they&apos;ve declined since then. The births from 2010 to 2017 should provide a steady number of 16- to 18-year-olds entering the region&apos;s working-age population over the next decade.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Working-Age Migration Continues to Benefit the Workforce&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While a stable number of new labor force entrants is welcome, the key question for the regional economy is whether or not net migration continues to boost the working-age population. To assess this, we can examine population changes by age group, specifically comparing the number of people four years older from four years in the past. If there are more people aged 16 to 64 in 2024 than there were aged 12 to 60 in 2020, the increase reflects positive net migration (with slight underestimation due to deaths, which are minimal for these age groups).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Table 1: Northwest Minnesota 2020 to 2024 Net Migration Estimates for Age Groups Under 65 Years&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Age in 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2020 Population&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Age in 2024&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2024 Population&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2020 -2024 Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-4 to 10*&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;103,254&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0 to 14&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;106,132&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+2,878&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+2.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11 to 20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75,907&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15 to 24&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;74,216&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1,691&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21 to 50&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;191,319&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25 to 54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;194,016&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+2,697&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51 to 60&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;74,832&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55 to 64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76,602&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+1,770&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+2.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Up to 60&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;445,312&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;0 to 64&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;450,966&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;+5,654&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;+1.3%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;* Includes births in 2021 to 2024&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;From 2020 to 2024, Northwest Minnesota added an estimated 2,776 people to the working-age population through net migration. This represents an increase of 993 people compared to the 1,783 estimated for 2020 to 2023 in my previous analysis, indicating that 2024 was another strong year for working-age migration. However, note that the changes from my previous analysis are not all due to 2024 migration. Prior year estimates of net migration were also revised upward based on additional information gained.   
&lt;br /&gt;
The results show particularly positive trends:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Prime working age gains&lt;/strong&gt;: The 25-54 age group, which has the highest labor force participation rate, saw the greatest net migration gains (+515 additional people compared to the 2020-2023 period).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Reduced youth outmigration&lt;/strong&gt;: The 15-24 age group still experienced net outmigration, but 461 fewer people left compared to the previous period (-1,691 from 2020-2024 vs. -2,152 from 2020-2023).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Continued pre-retirement gains&lt;/strong&gt;: The 55-64 age group had little change in net migration, adding 17 more people than in the previous period.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Economic Development Implications&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While the COVID-related surge in domestic migration has moderated from its 2021-2022 peaks, the underlying trend remains positive for Northwest Minnesota&apos;s economy. The continued net migration of working-age adults, particularly those in their prime earning years, provides several benefits:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Immediate workforce impact&lt;/strong&gt;: The 2,697 net migrants aged 25-54 have the highest labor force participation rate, providing an immediate boost to the available workforce.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Long-term workforce gains&lt;/strong&gt;: The reduced outmigration of 15- to 24-year-olds suggests more young adults are staying in or moving to the region, supporting longer-term workforce sustainability.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Economic multiplier effects&lt;/strong&gt;: Whether these new residents work remotely for employers outside the region or find local employment, their spending supports local businesses and creates additional economic activity.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Demographic balance&lt;/strong&gt;: Net migration offsets the region&apos;s aging population and declining birth rates, maintaining a more balanced age structure.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The 2024 population estimates confirm that net migration continues to drive population growth in Northwest Minnesota, with the workforce impact growing even stronger. For economic and workforce development professionals, this trend represents both an opportunity and a responsibility to ensure the region can continue attracting and retaining the workers needed for future economic growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about population trends in Northwest Minnesota, contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.Schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>699257</id><pubdate>2025-07-23T13:47:53Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>This month, we&apos;re looking ahead to understand what&apos;s driving demand and where opportunities for solutions might emerge.</Description><Audience/><Title>The Long-Term Outlook for Northwest Minnesota’s Long Term Care Industry</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>The Long-Term Outlook for Northwest Minnesota’s Long Term Care Industry</Title><title>2025-06-20 Long Term ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-684831&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2025-07-03T16:40:37Z</Date><ShortDescription>This month, we&apos;re looking ahead to understand what&apos;s driving demand and where opportunities for solutions might emerge.</ShortDescription><Subtitle>Last month, we examined Northwest Minnesota&apos;s healthcare workforce challenges.</Subtitle><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Last month, we examined &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/684822&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&apos;s healthcare workforce challenges&lt;/a&gt;. This month, we&apos;re looking ahead to understand what&apos;s driving demand and where opportunities for solutions might emerge. The focus on long-term care stems from key findings on Nursing Assistants surrounding their essential role in elderly care, their critical importance to the entire healthcare system and their status as the career path with the third highest number of job vacancies in the Northwest with a nearly 20% vacancy rate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Workforce Dynamics in Key Industries&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s industry projections&lt;/a&gt; show Nursing Homes – the largest employer of Nursing Assistants (43% statewide) – are projected for modest future employment declines, while Home Health Services and Assisted Living Facilities are expected to show solid growth (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; title=&quot;Table 1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Table 1: Employment Outlook for Industries Focused on Elderly Care&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;NAICS Code&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Industry&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Estimated Employment 2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Projected Employment 2032&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent Change 2022 - 2032&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Numeric Change 2022 - 2032&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6231&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing Care Facilities (Nursing Homes)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,348&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,264&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-84&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6233&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Community Care Facility for the Elderly (Assisted Living)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,972&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,220&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+12.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+248&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6216&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Home Health Care Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;964&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,077&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+11.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+113&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source:&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;DEED Employment Outlook&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;General Medical &amp;amp; Surgical Hospitals are a distant second-largest employer, employing 27% of Nursing Assistants, followed by Assisted Living Facilities at 11%. However, Assisted Living relies more on Personal Care Aides. Nursing Homes are required to provide care by Nursing Assistants, whereas Assisted Living Facilities are not. Likewise, Home Health Care Services rely most heavily on Personal Care and Home Health Aides, employing only 2.5% of Nursing Assistants.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Opportunity: It&apos;s About Retention, Not Just Recruitment&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Nursing Assistant occupational projections provide a key insight: most job openings are from turnover rather than new demand. For every one opening from growth, there are 89 openings from turnover. More specifically, the job openings are overwhelmingly from Nursing Assistants transitioning to different occupations or leaving the labor force altogether. This is demonstrated by the last three columns of Table 2, which show labor market exit openings and occupational transfer openings, as well as a projection of total openings, which also includes new jobs created (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;Table 2: Employment Outlook for Nursing Assistants and Home Health &amp;amp; Personal Care Aides&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Occupation&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Estimated Employment 2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Projected Employment 2032&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent Change 2022 - 2032&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Numeric Change 2022 - 2032&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022 - 2032 Labor Market Exit Openings*&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022 - 2032 Occupational Transfer Openings*&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022 - 2032 Total Openings**&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,052&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,101&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;49&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,947&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,408&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,404&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Home Health &amp;amp; Personal Care Aides&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,866&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,825&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;959&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,676&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,567&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13,202&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;* Labor Market Exit Openings are the projected number of workers leaving an occupation and exiting the labor market entirely. Occupational transfers are the projected number of workers permanently leaving an occupation and transferring to a different occupation.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;** Total Openings represent the sum of job openings from employment growth, labor force exits and occupational transfers.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source:&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;DEED Employment Outlook&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even though there are fewer than 50 projected new openings from growth in the number of Nursing Assistants in the Northwest region, there are over 4,400 total openings from 2022 to 2032. An estimated 55% are from Nursing Assistants leaving these jobs for another occupation, and 44% are from those leaving the labor force. The implication is that the greatest opportunity to meet Nursing Assistant staffing needs is to increase retention.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Putting Turnover in Perspective&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Nursing Assistants are among some of the highest turnover occupations in the region, resting at a well-above-average 71% turnover rate, compared to 56% for all occupations. Other high-vacancy positions with similar wages or educations include First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales workers (49%), Teaching Assistants (Paraprofessionals) (49%) and First-Line Supervisors of Food Prep and Serving Workers (73%). By this measure, Nursing Assistants have the second-highest projected turnover rate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Evolving Care Landscape&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given the Nursing Assistant turnover, the -1.6% projected Nursing Home employment drop in Northwest Minnesota is insignificant for the future demand. But why do we project essentially flat employment in Nursing Homes? Northwest Minnesota&apos;s population is not getting any younger. According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/admin/demography/data-by-topic/population-data/our-projections/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;population projections from the State Demographic Center&lt;/a&gt;, from 2025 to 2035 in Northwest Minnesota, the population of those age 75 to 84 will grow 34% and those age 85 and older will grow 19%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://acl.gov/aging-and-disability-in-america/data-and-research/profile-older-americans&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Profile of Older Americans&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; (U.S. Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living, 2023) estimates that 3% of those age 75 to 84 and 8% of those age 85 and over reside in Nursing Homes. Applying this to the population projections, I estimate an increase of 675 Nursing Home residents by 2035, or 26% growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;That is inconsistent with the employment projections, so either the employment projections are wrong, or more likely there will be a smaller percentage of elderly cared for in Nursing Homes in the future, instead choosing other options.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Care Continuum Expansion&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The trend has been a decreasing percentage living in Nursing Homes because Assisted Living Facilities and Home Health Care Services have grown to meet the care needs of many elderly who need assistance, but not the level of care Nursing Homes can provide. Nursing Homes have evolved to only serve those needing constant or specialized care.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Industry employment trends reflect this evolution, where Assisted Living Facilities and Home Care providers now care for those who need assistance with activities of daily living. This is why there is a slight decline projected in Nursing Home employment, as employment shifts to Assisted Living Facilities and Home Health Care Services. It is also why there is roughly 12% growth projected for Home Health Care Services and Assisted Living Facilities, as well as Home Health &amp;amp; Personal Care Aides rather than Nursing Assistants.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This shift represents progress in meeting diverse senior care preferences while optimizing resource allocation. However, this adaptation has natural boundaries. The Northwest&apos;s age 85 and over population is expected to grow by over 8,800 people (54%) from 2025 to 2045! Barring miraculous medical breakthrough, more individuals will require the specialized, intensive care than Nursing Homes provide – particularly those with complex medical conditions or severe mobility limitations that exceed what Assisted Living or Home Care can accommodate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking Ahead: Questions and Opportunities&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This analysis raises important strategic questions for our region: How can we ensure adequate care capacity as our most care-intensive senior population grows significantly? Can this care be provided without more Nursing Assistants to staff Nursing Homes? If so, how? Several potential solutions merit exploration:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Workforce Innovation:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Enhanced training and career pathways that improve retention&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Technology integration that supports care efficiency&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Creative staffing models and scheduling approaches&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Care Delivery Evolution:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Continued expansion of intermediate care options&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Integration of telehealth and remote monitoring&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Partnerships between care settings for seamless transitions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Community Solutions:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Family caregiver support programs&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Volunteer networks and community-based assistance&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Housing innovations that blend independence with support services&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Moving Forward Together&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&apos;s long-term care challenge reflects immutable demographic trends, but our region&apos;s collaborative spirit positions us well to develop innovative solutions. The data shows retention improvements offer the most immediate impact, while longer-term success will require innovations in medical care, creative approaches to care delivery and unique workforce development.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;I see a potential crisis on the horizon, but this represents an opportunity to build a more resilient, responsive care system that serves our growing senior population effectively while creating meaningful career opportunities for healthcare workers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about Health Care employment in Northwest Minnesota, contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.Schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.Schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>684831</id><pubdate>2025-07-03T18:10:59Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Good news for Northwest Minnesota: in 2024, the region&apos;s Health Care &amp; Social Assistance employment finally surpassed pre-pandemic levels!</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Healthcare Comeback: Labor Market Trends and Challenges as of 2024</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Healthcare Comeback: Labor Market Trends and Challenges as of 2024</Title><title>2025-05-12 Healthcare ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-684822&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2025-05-20T16:40:37Z</Date><ShortDescription>In 2024, the region&apos;s Health Care &amp; Social Assistance employment finally surpassed pre-pandemic levels!</ShortDescription><Subtitle>Good news for Northwest Minnesota</Subtitle><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Good news for Northwest Minnesota: in 2024, the region&apos;s Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment finally surpassed pre-pandemic levels! As DEED celebrates Health Care month, let&apos;s examine the unique recovery patterns across Minnesota&apos;s regions, with special focus on Northwest Minnesota&apos;s strengths and ongoing challenges.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Regional Recovery at a Glance&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Three other regions – four of six total – also now have higher Health Care employment in 2024 than before the pandemic (Figure 1). The Twin Cities led the way, surpassing pre-pandemic employment first in 2022, followed by Southeast in 2023. Central and Northwest Minnesota reached this milestone in 2024, while Northeast and Southwest have yet to regain their pre-pandemic Health Care employment levels.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/052025_NW_figure1_tcm1045-684826.png&quot; title=&quot;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Employment Trend for Minnesota Regions and Statewide&quot; alt=&quot;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Employment Trend for Minnesota Regions and Statewide&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;052025_NW_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Statewide Growth with Regional Variations&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Minnesota&apos;s Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector now boasts 529,514 jobs in 2024 – an impressive 6.8% higher than the pre-pandemic peak of 499,712 jobs in 2019. The Twin Cities region outpaced all others with a blistering 10.5% growth rate. With 57.5% of the sector&apos;s statewide jobs concentrated in the Twin Cities region, it&apos;s clearly driving statewide employment growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Why the Twin Cities Recovered First&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Twin Cities benefits from a diverse healthcare landscape with a vast array of specialties in the Ambulatory Health Care Services subsector, supported by its large population base. The Twin Cities stands out with Ambulatory Care comprising 31.1% of its healthcare employment. Uniquely, Social Assistance ranks as the second-largest subsector in the Twin Cities, accounting for 27.6% of total Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance jobs. This explains the region&apos;s quick recovery – Social Assistance rebounded more rapidly than other healthcare subsectors.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Similarly, Southeast Minnesota (home to Mayo Clinic) has the largest share of its Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment in the Ambulatory Care subsector at 50.9% (Table 1). In contrast, Northwest saw a huge job gain in Social Assistance, against declines in Ambulatory Health Care and Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 1: Subsector Percent of Jobs and Change from 2019 to 2024&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Region/ Industry&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2024 Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2024 Percent of Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Change from 2019&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Central Minnesota&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50,999&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+1,834&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+3.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12,756&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+90&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+0.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hospitals&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13,859&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-432&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14,848&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+647&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+4.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,534&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+1,527&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+19.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Northeast Minnesota&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33,910&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-678&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,249&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+690&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+12.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hospitals&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12,876&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;38.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-881&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-6.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,259&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1,209&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-11.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,524&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+720&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+15.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;40,668&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;100.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;+1,483&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;+3.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8,295&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;20.4%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-101&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-1.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hospitals&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;12,583&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;30.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;+202&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;+1.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;11,746&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;28.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-390&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-3.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Social Assistance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8,043&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;19.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;+1,771&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;+28.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Twin Cities&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;304,298&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+25,351&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+9.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;94,677&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+6,803&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+7.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hospitals&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67,886&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-366&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-0.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;57,673&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+5,399&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+10.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84,062&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+13,516&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+19.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Southeast Minnesota&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;68,183&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+1,925&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+2.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34,677&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+1,497&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+4.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hospitals&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15,598&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+806&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+5.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,074&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-525&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-4.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,832&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+146&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+2.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Southwest Minnesota&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31,456&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-113&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-0.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,795&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-936&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-12.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hospitals&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,346&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;26.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+660&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+8.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,755&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-93&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,558&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+255&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+4.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Minnesota&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;532,896&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+31,900&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+6.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;165,512&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+9,297&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+6.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hospitals&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;131,544&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+245&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+0.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;115,617&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+3,937&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+3.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;120,223&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+18,422&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+18.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Different Employment Patterns Across Regions&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The distribution of healthcare employment looks quite different outside the metropolitan areas:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The distribution of sector employment is much different in the rest of the state. &lt;strong&gt;Northern Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt; (Northwest and Northeast): Both regions have their highest percentage of Health Care employment in the &lt;strong&gt;Hospitals subsector&lt;/strong&gt; (31% in Northwest, 38% in Northeast), with &lt;strong&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/strong&gt; following as a close second (28.9% in Northwest, 27.3% in Northeast).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Central and Southwest&lt;/strong&gt;: These regions show similar patterns with Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities and Hospitals as their top two subsectors, though Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care is larger in both.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While Minnesota as a whole shows growth in every Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance subsector since 2019, no individual region shares this across-the-board growth. The Twin Cities comes closest, with just a half-percent drop in Hospital employment compared to the slight 0.2% statewide growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Growth Champions by Region and Subsector&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Social Assistance&lt;/strong&gt; is Minnesota&apos;s fastest-growing Health Care subsector statewide and leads growth in four of the six regions (except Southeast and Southwest).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hospital employment&lt;/strong&gt; grew fastest in southern Minnesota.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;In &lt;strong&gt;Southeast Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;, the Ambulatory Care subsector added the most jobs, reflecting its outsized role in the region&apos;s economy.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Health Care Recovery: A Mixed Picture&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While Northwest Minnesota has recovered its pre-pandemic Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment levels, the recovery shows striking differences across subsectors (Figure 2). &lt;strong&gt;Social Assistance has been the star performer&lt;/strong&gt;, growing an impressive 28.2% since 2019 – the fastest growth rate of any Health Care subsector in any Minnesota region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/052025_NW_figure2_tcm1045-684827.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Subsector Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Subsector Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;052025_NW_figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking at the quarterly trend data since 2016 reveals some important patterns:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul type=&quot;disc&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/strong&gt; is down 3% (-260 jobs) from its peak in Q4 2017&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Car Facilities&lt;/strong&gt; has fallen 4% (-493 jobs) since Q2 2018&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It&apos;s particularly noteworthy that these declines began well before the pandemic. While the more urban regions of the Twin Cities and Southeast have expanded their ambulatory care services, Northwest Minnesota – along with the Southwest – has struggled to recruit the specialists needed to grow this subsector.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Ambulatory Care declined a slight 1.2% in Northwest Minnesota, while Southwest experienced a much steeper 12% drop. As Minnesota&apos;s most rural regions, both face significant challenges recruiting specialists that drive Ambulatory Care growth in regions with Minnesota&apos;s larger cities. It is notable that the Twin Cities and Southeast have the lowest job vacancy rates in the state, suggesting these regions have an advantage in recruiting healthcare workers of all kinds from other regions and states.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Nursing Assistant Crisis in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The challenge is particularly acute in Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities, where unfilled positions – especially for Nursing Assistants – are &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2024/nursing-home.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;preventing facilities from operating at capacity despite growing demand from the region&apos;s aging population&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest, Social Assistance drove overall healthcare employment growth while Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities continue to struggle with hiring challenges. This disparity tells an important story for workforce development efforts.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Vacancy Rates Tell the Real Story&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Nursing Assistant has the third largest number of job vacancies of any occupation in the Northwest, just behind Fast Food Workers and Retail Salespersons (Table 2). However, both retail and fast food occupations have significant seasonal demand and are much larger occupations overall.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;Table 2: Top 15 Occupations in Northwest Minnesota by Number of Vacancies, 2024&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;SOC&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Occupation Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Job Vacancies&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Regional Employment (Currently Filled Jobs)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Job Vacancy Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Median Wage Offer ($/hour)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Median Wage of Filled Jobs ($/hour)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;412031&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Retail Salespersons&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;760&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,460&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$14.63&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$16.70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;353023&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Fast Food &amp;amp; Counter Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;620&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,410&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$14.82&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$14.55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;311131&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;589&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,960&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$18.18&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$20.54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;411011&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;436&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,190&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$18.27&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;352014&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Cooks, Restaurant&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;403&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,460&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$13.02&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$17.63&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;412011&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Cashiers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;384&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,250&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$14.34&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$14.38&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;353031&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Waiters &amp;amp; Waitresses&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;342&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,340&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$15.05&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$11.28&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;372012&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Maids &amp;amp; Housekeeping Cleaners&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;340&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,750&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$20.19&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$16.77&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;352021&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Food Preparation Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;321&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,240&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$14.55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$16.05&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;291141&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Registered Nurses&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;298&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,600&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$33.30&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$41.91&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;311122&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Personal Care Aides&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;295&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;#N/A&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;#N/A&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$17.14&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;#N/A&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;351012&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation &amp;amp; Serving Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;293&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,840&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$18.68&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$21.48&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;292061&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Licensed Practical &amp;amp; Licensed Vocational Nurses&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;218&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,630&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$25.90&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$28.01&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;533032&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Heavy &amp;amp; Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;217&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,830&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.29&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$27.72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;259045&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Teaching Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;217&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,490&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$37,294/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$37,546/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s 2024 Job Vacancy Survey and Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In fact, Nursing Assistant employment is only about 55% the size of Retail Salespersons and Fast Food Workers yet has nearly comparable vacancy numbers. This translates to a vacancy rate of 19.9% for Nursing Assistants – tied for the highest among the top 15 occupations with vacancies in Northwest Minnesota. This elevated vacancy rate signals intense, unmet hiring demand.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Broader Impact on Healthcare Delivery&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities also employ other occupations with high vacancy rates, including Housekeeping Cleaners, Food Preparation Workers, Registered Nurses, Personal Care Aides, Supervisors of Food Prep Workers and Licensed Practical Nurses – all appearing in the top 15 occupations by number of vacancies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, Nursing Assistants play a particularly critical role, providing daily care for nursing home residents. The vacant positions in this occupation are directly preventing facilities from admitting residents to open beds, creating a bottleneck in the Health Care system.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While job vacancy rates for most occupations have been trending downward since the pandemic recovery, Nursing Assistant vacancies were significantly higher than average before the pandemic and have widened the gap even further in 2024 (Figure 3).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/052025_NW_figure3_tcm1045-684828.png&quot; title=&quot;Job Vacancy Rates for Nursing Assistants and Total All Occupations Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Job Vacancy Rates for Nursing Assistants and Total All Occupations Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;052025_NW_figure3&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking Ahead: Addressing the Challenge&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This analysis provides a detailed look at current labor market conditions (as of the end of 2024) in Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector. For workforce development professionals, the data points to clear priorities: increasing the pipeline of Nursing Assistants should be at the top of regional workforce strategies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Next month, I&apos;ll project future demand conditions in the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care subsector and examine the fundamental drivers of the persistent worker shortage. This will provide a data-driven perspective that workforce development agencies, educational institutions, and healthcare providers can use to address this critical need.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about Health Care employment in Northwest Minnesota, contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;If you’d like to find out more about Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance career opportunities in Minnesota or if you are an employer looking to hire workers, contact staff at a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/locations&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerForce location&lt;/a&gt; near you.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>684822</id><pubdate>2025-05-21T14:41:58Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>As detailed in a recent article in Minnesota Economic Trends, census data shows that the number of self-employed workers in Northwest Minnesota surged by 5.5% from 2020 to 2022, a gain of more than 2,300 new nonemployer establishments.</Description><Audience/><Title>A Surge in Self Employment in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>A Surge in Self Employment in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2025-04-11 Self-Employed ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-680263&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2025-04-23T16:40:37Z</Date><ShortDescription>As detailed in a recent article in Minnesota Economic Trends, census data shows that the number of self-employed workers in Northwest Minnesota surged by 5.5% from 2020 to 2022, a gain of more than 2,300 new nonemployer establishments.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As detailed in a &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/mar-2025/nonemployer.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;recent article&lt;/a&gt; in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Economic Trends&lt;/a&gt;, census data shows that the number of self-employed workers in Northwest Minnesota surged by 5.5% from 2020 to 2022, a gain of more than 2,300 new &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;nonemployer establishments&lt;/a&gt;. That was more than three times as many as the number of self-employed workers lost during the Pandemic Recession, when Northwest dropped 754 nonemployers from 2019 to 2020. In 2022, there were now just over 44,600 nonemployer establishments in the 26-county region, which was just over 10% of the state total (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;9&quot;&gt;Table 1. Minnesota Nonemployer Statistics by Region, 2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Area&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Number of Nonemployers&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent of State Total&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change from 2006-2022&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change from 2019-2020&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change from 2020-2022&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Central&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;52,800&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;11.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,227&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-166&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,339&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northeast&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,331&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;4.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-288&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-981&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,871&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northwest&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;44,632&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;10.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,775&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-754&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,323&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southeast&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34,378&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,566&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-881&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,507&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27,704&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;6.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+450&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-721&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,507&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Twin Cities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;261,500&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;59.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+57,751&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+28.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5,146&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+21,367&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;442,345&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;100.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+65,481&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+17.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-8,649&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+32,914&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;9&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source:&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In order to be considered as a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;nonemployer establishment&lt;/a&gt;, the business must have no paid employees, have annual business receipts of $1,000 or more and be subject to federal income taxes. This broad definition encompasses a diverse spectrum of self-employment activities, ranging from full-time entrepreneurs who rely on their business as their primary source of income to part-time business owners who treat it as a supplementary income stream alongside a traditional job or other revenue sources.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;They include the professionals preparing taxes or creating advertising campaigns for local businesses, the independent truck drivers keeping products moving through supply chains, the skilled tradespeople building and finishing homes and the real estate agents selling them. These solo entrepreneurs represent a small part of the region&apos;s total workforce, but they are important to long-term economic health and resilience.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Twenty-four of the 26 counties saw a rebound in the number of self-employed workers from 2020 to 2022, with the fastest increases seen in Todd, Clay, Stevens, Beltrami and Douglas counties all growing 8% or more. Well over half of the counties in the region saw a gain over the past 10 years, with 16 counties adding nonemployers from 2013 to 2022. The largest and fastest gain occurred in Clay County, with just over 4,500 self-employed workers in 2022. With 5,652 nonemployer establishments, Crow Wing County has the largest number, and saw the third fastest growth. Smaller counties like Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen and Todd County and larger counties like Otter Tail and Douglas County also saw rapid growth over the decade. In contrast, Pennington and Grant saw the fastest declines (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;Table 2. Nonemployer Statistics by County, 2013-2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;County&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2013&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2019&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;2013-2022&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;2019-2020&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;2020-2022&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Becker Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,834&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,904&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,859&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,959&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Beltrami Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,979&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,821&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,733&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,973&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Cass Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,581&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,596&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,659&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,690&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Clay Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,807&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,268&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,131&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,513&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+18.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Clearwater Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;649&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;623&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;613&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;625&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Crow Wing Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,977&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,376&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,345&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,652&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+13.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Douglas Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,312&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,455&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,352&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,617&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Grant Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;551&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;528&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;492&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;512&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hubbard Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,698&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,737&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,680&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,755&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Kittson Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;327&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;334&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;338&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;333&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Lake of the Woods Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;351&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;379&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;379&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;399&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+13.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;0.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Mahnomen Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;303&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;334&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;324&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;340&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+12.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Marshall Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;645&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;605&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;625&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;635&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Morrison Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,366&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,304&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,305&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,416&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;0.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Norman Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;487&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;470&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;476&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;486&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Otter Tail Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,684&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,915&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,828&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,099&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pennington Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;893&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;819&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;792&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;829&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Polk Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,183&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,154&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,068&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,166&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pope Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;971&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,027&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,015&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,039&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Red Lake Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;231&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;221&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;216&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;222&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Roseau Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,162&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,107&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,094&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,121&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Stevens Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;627&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;627&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;592&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;644&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Todd Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,649&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,673&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,662&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,837&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+11.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Traverse Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;261&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;278&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;271&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;281&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wadena Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,012&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,008&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;978&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,029&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wilkin Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;474&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;500&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;482&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;460&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northwest&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;42,014&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;43,063&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;42,309&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;44,632&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: U.S. Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Additional detail on each county&apos;s nonemployer establishments can be found in the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/mar-2025/nonemployer.jsp#visualization&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;interactive visualization&lt;/a&gt; at the bottom of the article. For example, data for each county includes a breakdown by industry, changes over different years, and a map showing Location Quotients.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser, James Whirlwind Soldier</Author><id>680263</id><pubdate>2025-04-23T14:17:58Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Workforce diversity boosted Northwest Minnesota’s labor force in the pandemic recovery. But what is the economic impact of increased labor force participation among diverse populations? </Description><Audience/><Title>Bridging the Gap: How Inclusive Workforce Development Drives Economic Growth in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Bridging the Gap: How Inclusive Workforce Development Drives Economic Growth in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2025-03-31 MIWI ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-675861&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2025-03-31T16:40:37Z</Date><ShortDescription>Workforce diversity boosted Northwest Minnesota’s labor force in the pandemic recovery. But what is the economic impact of increased labor force participation among diverse populations? </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/584962&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;My July 2023 blog&lt;/a&gt; demonstrated how workforce diversity boosted Northwest Minnesota&apos;s labor force in the pandemic recovery. But what is the economic impact of increased labor force participation among diverse populations? This question gets right to DEED&apos;s mission: &quot;To empower the growth of the Minnesota economy, for everyone.&quot; Here I want to emphasize &quot;everyone.&quot; The old cliché, &quot;we all do better when we all do better&quot; is not only catchy, but it is also proven true in economics.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Economics Behind Inclusive Growth&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To show this, let&apos;s consult an academic journal. My colleague &lt;a href=&quot;https://extensionstaff.umn.edu/fernando-quijano&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Fernando Quijano&lt;/a&gt; from the University of Minnesota Extension had his &lt;a href=&quot;https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M76wZjt8qSr_hUaf9zbklewVNh_8vhl9/view?usp=sharing&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;recent paper&lt;/a&gt; accepted for publication in the Community Development Journal, and uses math to relate the employment-to-population ratio (EP) to real gross domestic product (GDP). Here&apos;s the formula:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/033125_NW_figure1_tcm1045-675862.png&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1: Formula Relating GDP to Labor Productivity, Hours Worked and Employment-to-Population Ratio&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1: Formula Relating GDP to Labor Productivity, Hours Worked and Employment-to-Population Ratio&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;033125_NW_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;EP is the number of employed people divided by the population. In this formula, it is represented by Workers/Population.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In all, this formula is just showing that GDP increases when worker productivity increases, worker hours increase or EP increases. So, the basic economics of GDP is that the way the economy can grow is for more people to work more and be more productive at that work. When put plainly, it sounds simple, right?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Economic Growth Opportunity&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So, what does this mean for Northwest Minnesota? Again, it&apos;s easy in theory. Just increase EP and productivity and you grow the economy. Of course, working more hours can also increase GDP, but given the desirability of work-life balance, this might not increase worker well-being.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Labor Employment Gaps by Demographics&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Of those options, data shows that the Northwest region has a huge opportunity to increase EP. Given that Northwest Minnesota had 1.4 job vacancies for every unemployed worker in 2023 (14,193 vacancies for 10,181 unemployed workers), the job market can support increased labor force participation. Just look at the unemployment and labor force participation rates by race and ethnicity in Table 1. Higher labor force participation and/or lower unemployment would increase EP.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Employment Characteristics, 2019 - 2023&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;-&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;In Labor Force &lt;em&gt;(available workers)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Labor Force Partic. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Unemp. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Labor Force Partic. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Unemp. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total Labor Force&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;290,223&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;63.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4.3%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;68.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;16 to 19 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17,034&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;57.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;52.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;20 to 24 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27,776&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;25 to 44 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;114,038&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;87.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;88.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;45 to 54 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;53,282&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;87.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;55 to 64 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;56,733&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;68.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;65 to 74 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,249&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;75 years &amp;amp; over&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,140&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Employment Characteristics by Race &amp;amp; Hispanic Origin&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;White alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;260,145&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;62.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Black or African American&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,501&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;American Indian &amp;amp; Alaska Native&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,538&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;58.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;57.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Asian or Other Pac. Islanders&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,270&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;74.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Some Other Race&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,483&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;73.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Two or More Races&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13,326&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;74.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hispanic or Latino&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,592&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023 five-year estimates&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This raises a basic question: why is labor force participation lower for youth, American Indians and Asian or Other Pacific Islanders in the region? And why is the unemployment rate lower for white workers than for every other racial and ethnic group in the region?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Truly understanding this pattern of labor force participation and unemployment – and narrowing the gap – would have a huge economic impact. Just think about the economic impact if all these groups matched the labor force participation rate of the Hispanic or Latino population, which is the highest in the region at 77.2%, and matched the unemployment rate of white workers, which is the lowest in the region at 3.7%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Bottom Line: Workforce Development &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; Economic Development&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Quijano writes in his conclusion, &quot;To improve well-being, the formula [in Figure 1] underscores the importance of sustaining participation and fostering productivity.&quot; So, economics shows that effective workforce development grows the economy. That is because wages are a measure of value added, and value added is a source of economic growth. If all unemployed instead employed and earning wages, that would significantly increase the region&apos;s GDP. And, if many of those not currently in the labor force were also employed, GDP would be boosted a great deal more. Increasing labor force participation and worker productivity – workforce development – is economic development!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser, James Whirlwind Soldier</Author><id>675861</id><pubdate>2025-04-04T16:04:08Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>My previous blog on wind and solar jobs promised a look at a more promising workforce opportunity in Northwest Minnesota: energy efficiency.</Description><Audience/><Title>Energy Efficiency: Creating Career Opportunities in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Energy Efficiency: Creating Career Opportunities in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2025-02-19 Energy ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-669853&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2025-02-19T20:09:52Z</Date><ShortDescription>My previous blog on wind and solar jobs promised a look at a more promising workforce opportunity in Northwest Minnesota: energy efficiency.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/667459&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;My previous blog on wind and solar jobs&lt;/a&gt; promised a look at a more promising workforce opportunity in Northwest Minnesota:  energy efficiency.  While projections show a 5% increase in electricity demand over the next 15 years, there&apos;s a smart way to meet this growing need that creates local jobs. Like any market, energy has both supply and demand sides. The beauty of energy efficiency is that it tackles the demand side without asking people to sacrifice comfort or convenience. Through better technology and installation practices, we can deliver the same services - heating and cooling, lighting, mechanical power, and electronics - while using less energy input.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;What sort of employment impact is energy efficiency having in the Northwest region?  Again, I use the US Department of Energy&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.energy.gov/policy/us-energy-employment-jobs-report-useer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;United States Energy and Employment Report&lt;/a&gt; (USEER) to answer this question by tabulating the  job change from 2018 to 2023.  Unfortunately, as with wind and solar, many counties have less than 10 estimated jobs and are reported as &quot;&amp;lt; 10&quot; for the most recent year of 2023.  However, this is less of an issue than with wind and solar where there were only data for three Northwest counties.  With a &quot;&amp;lt; 10&quot; value, there may be anywhere from 0 to 9 jobs in that county.  So, I will present the job estimates two ways.  First, Table 1 excludes counties that have &quot;&amp;lt; 10,&quot; presenting the number of jobs and the change from 2018 to 2023 for those counties with job estimates of at least 10.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Table 1:  Energy Efficiency Jobs by Region, Including Only Counties with Ten or More Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Region&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Estimated Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2018 to 2023
&lt;br /&gt;
Job Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Counties Included (At Least 10 Jobs in Every Energy Efficiency Category)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2018&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2023&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,175&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,187&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+12&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clay, Crow Wing, Douglas, Morrison, Otter Tail, Polk (9 of 26 counties)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Central Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,210&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,048&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-162&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright (9 of 13 counties)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northeast Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,788&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,695&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-93&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Carlton, Itasca, St. Louis (3 of 7 counties)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southeast Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,654&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,519&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-135&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Freeborn, Goodhue, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Winona (8 of 11 counties)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southwest Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,363&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,280&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-83&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Blue Earth, Brown, Le Sueur, Lyon, Martin (5 of 23 counties)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Twin Cities Metro&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,968&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,994&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-974&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington (all 7 counties)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Statewide Unallocated&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,219&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,153&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-66&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Source:  U.S. Department of Energy, Energy and Employment Jobs Report (USEER).&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Not only are there significantly more energy efficiency jobs in Northwest Minnesota than solar and wind jobs, but the Northwest is also the only Minnesota region that gained jobs from 2018 to 2023.  Thus, energy efficiency does provide significant clean energy jobs in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, there are only nine counties in the Northwest with 10 or more jobs for each energy efficiency technology category.  Since the USEER only provides county job estimates for each of five energy efficiency technology categories, not total energy efficiency jobs per county, if even one county has &quot;&amp;lt;10&quot; jobs for one technology it is excluded.  Thus, Table 1 only includes nine (of 26) Northwest counties. However, in 2018, the USEER published the estimates by county even if they were less than 10 jobs.  Using that data, I provide a better representation of the number of regional jobs assuming there was no change in jobs from 2018 to 2023 in the counties with &quot;&amp;lt; 10&quot; in 2023. In other words, Table 2 presents the number of jobs in every county, replacing &quot;&amp;lt; 10&quot; values in 2023 with the values in 2018.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 2:  Energy Efficiency Jobs by Region, &lt;em&gt;Assuming Counties with &quot;&amp;lt; 10&quot; Reported in 2023 were unchanged from 2018&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Region&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Estimated Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2018 to 2023 Job Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2018&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2023&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,205&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,155&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-50&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Central Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,463&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,284&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-179&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northeast Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,938&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,838&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-100&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southeast Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,916&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,762&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-154&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southwest Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,480&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,345&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-135&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Twin Cities Metro&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,968&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,994&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-974&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Statewide Unallocated&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,219&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,153&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-66&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Note: See Table 3 for a list of counties by technology that have less than ten estimated jobs and are assumed to have no change from 2018.
&lt;br /&gt;
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy and Employment Jobs Report (USEER).&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2 gives us a more complete picture of the magnitude of jobs, since it includes all counties by assuming suppressed values in 2023 stayed the same as their 2018 levels. While Northwest now shows a job decline, it is the smallest decline of any region. More significantly, Table 2 shows the number of energy efficiency jobs is around 45% greater if all counties are included.  Northwest and Southwest are most impacted by the lack of data on counties with &quot;&amp;lt; 10&quot; jobs due to the large number of rural counties.  The Twin Cities Metro numbers remain the same since it had no counties with &quot;&amp;lt; 10&quot; jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Energy efficiency jobs provide significant opportunity in Northwest Minnesota. While the region showed only slight growth or a small decline from 2018 to 2023 (depending on how one deals with missing job data), this was the most stable employment of any region in Minnesota. More importantly, the occupations involved in energy efficiency work offer strong career opportunities. These jobs typically pay above the region&apos;s median wage of $47,362, show faster projected growth than the overall job market, and often require only a high school diploma or postsecondary certificate combined with on-the-job training. This makes them accessible career paths that can provide family-sustaining wages. Table 3 features selected Occupations in Demand in energy efficiency in Northwest Minnesota.  Most are in the highest demand with a &quot;Five Stars&quot; indicator.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;Table 3:  Selected Northwest Minnesota Occupations in Demand in Energy Efficiency&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Job Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Current Demand Indicator&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Median Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022-2032 Projected Growth Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022-2032 Projected Openings&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Education Requirements&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Training Requirements&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Maintenance &amp;amp; Repair Workers, General&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Five Stars&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$50,209/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,252&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High school diploma or equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Moderate term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction Laborers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Five Stars&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$49,173/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,940&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High school diploma or equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Short term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Electricians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Five Stars&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$65,524/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,240&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Postsecondary non-degree award&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Moderate term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Plumbers, Pipefitters, &amp;amp; Steamfitters&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Five Stars&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$59,838/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;964&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Postsecondary non-degree award&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Long term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Heating, Air Conditioning, &amp;amp; Refrigeration Mechanics &amp;amp; Installers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Four Stars&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$61,742/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;476&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Postsecondary non-degree award&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Long term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, &amp;amp; Wall&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Two Stars&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$52,040/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;NA&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High school diploma or equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Short term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Source:  DEED &lt;a href=&quot;/deed/data/data-tools/oid/index.jsp&quot; title=&quot;Occupations in Demand&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;000 Occupations in Demand GEN&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the region continues to focus on energy efficiency to meet future energy needs, these occupations will remain in high demand, creating valuable employment opportunities for Northwest Minnesota workers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>669853</id><pubdate>2025-02-19T19:19:59Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>While the Twin Cities metro area holds the majority of Minnesota&apos;s energy jobs, Greater Minnesota is now outpacing the metro in clean energy job growth, according to recent analysis by DEED’s Molly Ingram.</Description><Audience/><Title>Wind and Solar Jobs in Northwest Minnesota: A Data-Driven Reality Check</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Wind and Solar Jobs in Northwest Minnesota: A Data-Driven Reality Check</Title><title>2025-01-31 Wind ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-667459&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2025-01-31T20:09:52Z</Date><ShortDescription>While the Twin Cities metro area holds the majority of Minnesota&apos;s energy jobs, Greater Minnesota is now outpacing the metro in clean energy job growth, according to recent analysis by DEED’s Molly Ingram.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While the Twin Cities metro area holds the majority of Minnesota&apos;s energy jobs, Greater Minnesota is now outpacing the metro in clean energy job growth, according to &lt;a href=&quot;/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2024/green.jsp&quot; title=&quot;Green and Clean Employment in Minnesota&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;020 Green GEN&quot;&gt;recent analysis by DEED&apos;s Molly Ingram&lt;/a&gt;. Does this signal a huge emerging opportunity for the Northwest Minnesota workforce? If so, increased workforce development investment would be warranted. This review of information on wind and solar electricity generation and related employment in Northwest Minnesota suggests the magnitude of employment does not warrant this, at least not yet, but stay tuned for a future blog on the greater workforce opportunity of energy efficiency.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Ingram&apos;s third article in a series on workforce considerations of Minnesota&apos;s Climate Action Framework states, &quot;changes in power generation and fuel technologies associated with energy jobs in Greater Minnesota are likely here to stay for the foreseeable future.&quot; Indeed, power generation technology is changing, and this change is largely shaped by clean energy goals. The Minnesota Department of Commerce reports that over the next ten years the share of Minnesota&apos;s electricity from wind is predicted to increase from 25% to 51% (more than doubling), and from solar to increase from 4% to 13% (more than tripling).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In the meantime, electricity demand is predicted to increase 5% over the next 15 years. Meeting increased electricity demand with a different mix of generation technology would mean shifting energy sector employment. And there appears to be shifting below the surface in Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution industry group. There were 1,183 jobs in 2023, which was little changed from the 1,179 jobs recorded in 2019, even &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.otpco.com/newsroom/posts/hoot-lake-plant-retires/#:~:text=June%2001%2C%202021,safe%2C%20reliable%2C%20affordable%20energy.&quot;&gt;while the Hoot Lake coal-fired power plant in Fergus Falls was retired&lt;/a&gt; after 100 years in 2021. Otter Tail Power Company reported that the generation capacity was replaced with natural gas and wind facilities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So far, we&apos;ve seen most &lt;a href=&quot;https://energy.usgs.gov/uswtdb/viewer/#5.76/46.28/-92.4&quot;&gt;wind energy located in southern Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;. That&apos;s not to say the Northwest is completely left out. &lt;a href=&quot;https://cleangridalliance.org/resources/projects?gp=minnesota&amp;amp;tp=all&quot;&gt;According to the Clean Grid Alliance&lt;/a&gt; (CGA), eleven of the 127 grid-coupled wind generation plants that came online since 1997 are in the Northwest Region. These have a combined capacity of 85 megawatts (MW), amounting to about 1.8% of the 4,677 MW statewide wind generation capacity. The most recent Northwest wind plant was added in 2020 with 4.6 MW capacity. This is one of the total ten statewide wind generating plants coming online since 2019, but amounts to merely 0.2% of statewide added capacity. So, the Northwest has not been catching up in wind generation since 2019. With nearly 75% of Minnesota&apos;s total wind generating capacity located in the Southwest and an additional 20% in the Southeast, the rest of Minnesota – including the Northwest – is not a big player in wind generation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Solar plants are more recent additions to Minnesota&apos;s generating mix, with the first project recorded by CGA in 2013. Up to the most recent in 2024, there have been a total of 482 solar projects statewide for a combined 1,480 MW capacity. The Northwest has 34 of these, for a combined capacity of 114 MW, amounting to 7.7% of statewide solar capacity. However, looking at the solar added since 2019, the Northwest contributes nearly 15% of Minnesota&apos;s added solar capacity with 21 of the 216 plants added and 83 of the of the 558 MW added. While the Northwest is growing its share, Central Minnesota is the big player with over 50% of the state&apos;s solar capacity, and 58% of Minnesota&apos;s capacity added since 2019.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So what sort of employment impact is wind and solar power generation having in the Northwest? The US Department of Energy has been answering this for all energy technologies nationwide with the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.energy.gov/policy/us-energy-employment-jobs-report-useer&quot;&gt;United States Energy and Employment Report&lt;/a&gt; (USEER). It estimates the number of jobs associated with each energy technology. While some county level estimates are supplied, most counties have less than 10 estimated jobs and are reported as &quot;&amp;lt; 10.&quot; Therefore, estimating jobs for sub-state regions is not possible. Still, the available county data are informative.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For wind generation in 2023, there were an estimated 15 jobs associated with wind generation in Douglas and 27 in Todd. All the rest of the Northwest Minnesota counties were reported as &quot;&amp;lt; 10.&quot; Furthermore, USEER estimates 2,860 statewide wind-related jobs in 2023. That is about 0.6 jobs per MW of wind capacity statewide. If Northwest Minnesota&apos;s jobs per MW scale about the same, one would expect 52 jobs (85 MW times 0.6 jobs per MW). That is only 11 more than estimated for Douglas and Todd. So, it is reasonable to assume there is not a massive number of additional wind-related jobs in the rest of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s counties that each are estimated to have less than ten jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;USEER also informs us that nationwide 8% of wind-related jobs are in Manufacturing and 11% are in Wholesale Trade, reflecting the supply chain for this technology. These jobs would be geographically concentrated based on where components are manufactured. Since Minnesota is not known for wind power component manufacturing, I do not expect a concentration here.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Construction accounts for the largest share of U.S. wind-related jobs, at 35%, while 27% are in Professional and Business Services which includes civil engineering firms. This indicates significant front-loading of employment in constructing wind projects. Only 8% of the U.S. employment is in Utilities, which is the industry most associated with ongoing operation. Thus, like most heavy and civil engineering projects, many workers can be expected to come from other places for the duration of the project and then leave when it is completed. With only about 9% of Minnesota&apos;s wind projects built in the Northwest, there is a limited need for a resident wind energy workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even though solar is a bigger part of the Northwest&apos;s electric generation mix than wind, USEER has &quot;&amp;lt; 10&quot; jobs for all but one Northwest county. Cass County has an estimated 22 solar-power-related jobs in 2023. According to CGA, Minnesota Power&apos;s 15 MW Sylvan Solar Project came online in Cass County in 2023. In 2024, the much smaller Spring Prairie Community Solar Garden also came online in Cass county. Since these are the only Northwest grid-coupled solar projects since 2021, this could explain Cass County&apos;s sole appearance in the USEER data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Statewide, USEER estimates 5,332 solar-power-related jobs, 86% more than for wind. Nationwide, there is also a slightly smaller share than for wind in Manufacturing (13%), Wholesale Trade (8%), and Professional and Business Services (16%), while half of the jobs are in Construction. So, it is reasonable to suspect there may be significant solar-related employment in Northwest Minnesota counties besides Cass County, even with less than ten per county estimated by USEER.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/qcew-econ-highlights.jsp&quot; title=&quot;000 QCEW GEN&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;000 QCEW GEN&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages&lt;/a&gt; data shows in 2023 there were 219 Electrical Contractor firms with 1,173 jobs in Northwest Minnesota, for an average of about five jobs per firm. If even a third of Northwest Minnesota counties had an electrical contractor doing solar installations with five employees, that would bump solar-related employment up by an additional 45 jobs. However, like for wind, this is not a staggering number of solar-related jobs. It also might be worth noting that the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/commerce/industries/energy/solar/solar-business-directory.jsp&quot;&gt;Solar Business Directory&lt;/a&gt; lists only two solar installers based in Northwest Minnesota (Real Solar, based in Cass County and Winkelman Solar in Crow Wing County). The CERTs list is not intended to be exhaustive, but businesses would want to get promoted there.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The conclusion from this effort to systematically apply the available regional data and information on wind and solar generation employment is that there does not yet appear to be a massive number of jobs in Northwest Minnesota. That lessens the call for workforce development initiatives. Granted, the data are spotty. So much so that applying the data did not encourage a single table or figure – unheard of for a Regional Spotlight. However, if the jobs were available, we would expect to see this in the CGA grid-coupled power projects and the USEER data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As Ingram writes, &quot;...the first thing that comes to mind is likely...visions of solar panels and wind turbines.&quot; However, &quot;The energy efficiency sector alone accounts for about 75% of all clean energy jobs...&quot;. Here is where I expect a more compelling workforce opportunity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about energy employment in Northwest Minnesota, contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt; or visit &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/find-job&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerForceMN&apos;s Find a Job&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>667459</id><pubdate>2025-02-07T19:56:56Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>For 2024, as with 2023, female employment remains below pre-pandemic levels, while male employment increased.</Description><Audience/><Title>Caregiving Continues to Impact Northwest Minnesota’s Workforce</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Caregiving Continues to Impact Northwest Minnesota’s Workforce</Title><title>2024-12-23 CERP-female ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-662262&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-12-23T20:09:52Z</Date><ShortDescription>For 2024, as with 2023, female employment remains below pre-pandemic levels, while male employment increased.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;My &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/607902&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;blog from January 2024&lt;/a&gt; showed how caregiving – either childcare or elder care – impacted workforce trends since the pandemic in 2020. This month, I show that caregiving remains a major issue keeping females out of the workforce. I also employ additional data to be more precise about it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The most current &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qwi/index.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) data&lt;/a&gt; on workforce demographics is updated through the first quarter of 2024. To create annual averages, I will use the average employment by age and sex for the four quarters from second quarter 2023 to first quarter 2024 and compare to the average employment for same four quarters directly before the start of the pandemic, from the second quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020. To make this blog less cumbersome, I&apos;ll simply state the year, for example, 2020 or 2024. However, know that any reference to employment from here on refers to &quot;year-to-first quarter&quot; annual employment averages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For 2024, as with 2023, female employment remains below pre-pandemic levels, while male employment increased. Specifically, female employment dropped by 1,261 jobs (-1.1%) from 2020 to 2024, while male employment increased 3,317 (+3.1%). While this is a healthy gain in female employment compared to the drop of 5,249 (-4.4%) from 2020 to 2023, data shows that males also had notable employment gains of 317 jobs (+0.3%) from 2020 to 2023. Thus, the gap between female and male employment change narrowed by 989, but is still a significant 4,577 jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Figure 1 illustrates the workforce impact by showing the percent of the workforce by age that is female in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Note that we don&apos;t need to show males because it is just the balance of the percentage. For example, 51.6% females in 2024 means the remainder is 48.4% males. Note also that these data do not include self-employment, which is more common for males.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/122024_nw_figure1_tcm1045-662264.png&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1: Percent of Northwest Minnesota Workforce that is Female by Age&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1: Percent of Northwest Minnesota Workforce that is Female by Age&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;122024_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As with 2023, the declines remain concentrated in the 25-to-64-year age groups. Every age group in this range went from increasing or flat from 2016 to 2020 to a decline in 2024. In contrast, female jobholders from age 14 to 18 and 65 years and over increased in 2024. However, the age 65 and over increase is a continuation of the 2016 to 2020 trend, while the age 14 to 18 reversed the trend.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Age 19 to 21 went from nearly flat to a decline in 2024, but the change was not all from females not participating in the workforce. Instead, the population of females did not grow as much as males from 2020 to 2024. The population of males aged 19 to 21 grew by 409, while females grew by 282, a difference of 127. The population of males aged 22 to 24 grew by 226 more than females, and males aged 45 to 54 grew 242 more. Overall, the male population aged 14 and over grew 560 more than females. So, while Figure 1 nicely illustrates the impact, it is also somewhat exaggerating it. To isolate the workforce change from population change, I&apos;ll divide employment by population to yield an employment to population ratio.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Specifically, I divide the jobs held by females and males by the population for each age group. This QWI employment is derived from Unemployment Insurance records matched to Census demographics, so it only includes jobs covered by Unemployment Insurance and as mentioned above, self-employment is not counted. Also, employment is based on where the job is. This differs from the employment-to-population ratio published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for states, which is based on a survey. Respondents provide their employment status, and the self-employed as well as those working in a different state than where they live are included in the BLS employment estimates. To distinguish my ratio, I call it &quot;Covered Employment to Resident Population (CERP).&quot; The important thing is that it controls for population changes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 has CERP by age and sex for Northwest Minnesota, providing a more precise assessment of the workforce impact. For all ages 14 and over, the female CERP ratio declined from 50.8% of the resident population working in 2020 to 49.3% in 2024, or -1.6%. Male CERP increased 0.4% over this time. This analysis clearly shows a decline in female workforce participation concentrated in the 22-to-64-year age groups. While age 19 to 21 CERP declined for females, it is only 0.3 percentage points more than the decline for males. CERP for age 22 to 24 also declined for both sexes, but by a more significant 0.8 percentage points more for females. CERP for the other age groups included in ages 25 to 64 declined for females while increasing for males, with a difference of between 2.7 percentage points and 3.8 percentage points.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;9&quot;&gt;Table 1: Change in Covered Employment to Resident Population Ratio (CERP) by Age and Sex&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Age&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Sex&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Year to First Quarter (Yt1Q) 2020 Jobs*&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2020 Resident Population**&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Yt1Q 2020 CERP*&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Yt1Q 2024 Jobs*&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2023 Resident Population**&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Yt1Q 2024 CERP*&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;CERP Change Yt1Q 2020 to Yt1Q 2024*&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;14 to 18&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,533&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,093&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,077&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,129&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;37.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,619&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,310&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,721&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,394&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;19 to 21&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,560&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,647&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,517&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,929&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;59.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,807&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,656&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;54.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,837&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,065&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;52.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;22 to 24&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,243&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,418&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;66.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,918&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,352&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,097&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,890&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,973&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,050&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;59.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;25 to 34&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,998&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30,064&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;73.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,667&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,661&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-3.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,591&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32,170&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,285&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31,696&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;35 to 44&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,821&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32,189&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;74.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24,448&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33,741&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,848&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34,504&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,423&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;35,960&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;45 to 54&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,314&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30,021&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;74.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,854&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,789&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;73.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,033&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31,874&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;59.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,599&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31,884&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;55 to 64&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24,019&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41,574&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;57.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,542&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;39,073&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,534&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;42,376&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,839&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;39,865&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;47.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;65 and over&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,409&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61,851&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,612&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67,027&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,421&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;57,247&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,589&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;62,517&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total 14 and over&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;118,895&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;233,857&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;117,634&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;238,701&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;49.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;106,949&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;238,027&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;44.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;110,266&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;243,431&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;45.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;9&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;*Based on average employment for the four quarters to the beginning of first quarter of 2020 (Yt1Q 2020) and Yr1Q 2023.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;**Population estimates used are for April 2020 and July 2023.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI), U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates, and author&apos;s calculations.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This data again shows that the lack of affordable childcare and eldercare has a continuing workforce impact in Northwest Minnesota. As I stated in a &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/march-2024/labor-force.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;comprehensive article covering Minnesota&apos;s labor force dynamics&lt;/a&gt;, &quot;Caregiving is the plausible explanation for the lower rate of females in the workforce.&quot; These are the ages where people, particularly females, are most likely to be caring for children, grandchildren, and elderly parents. This pulls them out of the workforce. Strategies to increase workforce participation in the region will need to address these issues, among others.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>662262</id><pubdate>2024-12-30T18:22:25Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>DEED’s newest round of long-term projections have been published, showing the employment outlook through 2032 in each region of Minnesota as well as statewide. </Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota’s Employment Outlook Reveals Education and Training Investments that Pay Off</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota’s Employment Outlook Reveals Education and Training Investments that Pay Off</Title><title>2024-11-25 Projections ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-655211&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-11-25T17:29:34Z</Date><ShortDescription>DEED’s newest round of long-term projections have been published, showing the employment outlook through 2032 in each region of Minnesota as well as statewide. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s newest round of &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;long-term projections&lt;/a&gt; have been published, showing the employment outlook through 2032 in each region of Minnesota as well as statewide. The regional employment outlook is particularly useful to guide workforce investments and career decisions. Individuals and workforce development agencies alike want these investments to continue to pay off for a long time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Starting with the big picture, total employment in Northwest Minnesota is expected to increase by over 10,300 jobs, a 3.9% growth, from about 265,300 jobs in 2022 to 275,600 in 2032. This is slower than our prior projection of 5.1% growth from 2020 to 2030, though this slowdown reflects that the prior ten-year period included job growth following the Pandemic Recession. By 2022, employment in Northwest Minnesota was already within 0.7% of its pre-pandemic 2019 level. So, restaffing was mostly complete by the start of the current projection period.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Nonetheless, this projected growth is still slower than the actual 6% job growth in the prior decade from 2012 to 2022. This reflects the demographic realities of a slowly growing and aging population—all the more reason to focus training and education investments on the highest needs. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;How many jobs will need to be filled to accommodate growth as well as to backfill jobs vacated by people leaving the labor force? So called &quot;exit openings&quot; result from retirement, additional schooling, caregiving, health reasons and the like. Not surprisingly, the occupation groups with the largest number of exit openings are those with the most current jobs, thereby the most exits. However, two groups with many exits, namely Food Preparation &amp;amp; Serving Related and Sales &amp;amp; Related, also have a lot of early career jobs where workers often leave the labor force for a time to attend high school or college. Think Fast Food &amp;amp; Counter Workers, Waiters &amp;amp; Waitresses and Retail Salesperson positions that are popular summer jobs for students.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/112224_nw_figure1_tcm1045-655213.png&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1: Northwest Region Employment Projections by Occupation Group, 2022 to 2023&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1: Northwest Region Employment Projections by Occupation Group, 2022 to 2023&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;112224_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Notably, in every group there are many more exit openings projected than new jobs created. The upshot is that we expect large occupations to provide many job opportunities even with little growth or with decline, as with Office &amp;amp; Administrative Support. Conversely, even small occupations that are growing fast provide great opportunities, as with Computer &amp;amp; Mathematical. Growing occupations are often associated with less competition for open jobs, growing wages and more job security.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So where are the best opportunities in terms of the most openings and the fastest growth in Northwest Minnesota? Since we have projections for about 600 occupations in the region, the following table features some that require higher education. As mentioned, projections are useful to identify the occupations where an investment in education will provide a high long-term payoff. Wages are a great way to measure that payoff. Table 1 features the top six fastest growing occupations that also have at least 200 openings from a combination of growth and exits.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: Selected Fast-Growing Northwest Occupations&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Occupation Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;2022 Employment&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent Employment Growth,
&lt;br /&gt;
2022-2032&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2022-2032 Openings from&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;Typical Education Required&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;Median Wages&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Employment Growth&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Labor Force Exits&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nurse Practitioners&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;378&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+41.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+158&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+101&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Graduate Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$62.96/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Medical &amp;amp; Health Services Managers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;859&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+25.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+217&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+269&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Bachelor&apos;s Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$47.39/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Software Developers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;749&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+24.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+183&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+144&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Bachelor&apos;s Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$49.55/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Industrial Machinery Mechanics&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;517&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+22.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+117&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+204&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Vocational Training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$31.14/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Veterinary Technologists &amp;amp; Technicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;333&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+22.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+75&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+127&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Associate&apos;s Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$18.41/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, &amp;amp; mental health counselors&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;645&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+20.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+129&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+255&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Bachelor&apos;s Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$23.07/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Employment Outlook, Education Requirements for Occupations, and Occupational Employment &amp;amp; Wage Statistics&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Note that all but one of the high-growth occupations featured in Table 1 have median wages well above the median for all occupations of $22.77, except Veterinary Technologists &amp;amp; Technicians. The growth and openings from labor force exits show the availability of jobs, and the wages show the payoff from the investment in education.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2 features the top six occupations with the most openings from growth and exits, despite slower than average growth. Recall that growth for the total of all occupations in the Northwest is 3.9%. This demonstrates that an occupation can be a great opportunity even if it has slower growth. The wages also show a good payoff for education. The median wage for Nursing Assistants is below the median for all Northwest occupations, but the training is a minimum 75 hours. Also, employers often provide the training and employer reimbursement is available, making for a better payoff opportunity. Wages for Automotive Service Technicians &amp;amp; Mechanics wages are just a hair below the median for all occupations, while LPNs are just above. Wages are much higher for Teachers and Construction Managers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 2: Selected Northwest Occupations with Below Average Growth but Many Openings&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Occupation Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2022 Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent Employment Growth,
&lt;br /&gt;
2022-2032&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2022-2032 Openings from&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Typical Education Required&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Median Wages&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Employment Growth&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Labor Force Exits&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,052&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+49&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,947&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Vocational Training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$18.25/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Licensed Practical &amp;amp; Vocational Nurses&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,739&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+49&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+715&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Vocational Training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$24.63/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Secondary School Teachers, exc. Special Ed. &amp;amp; Career&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,075&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+58&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+610&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Bachelor&apos;s Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$66,299/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Automotive Service Technicians &amp;amp; Mechanics&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,488&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+37&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+523&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Vocational Training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.60/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Middle School Teachers, exc. Special Ed. &amp;amp; Career&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;731&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+20&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+249&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Bachelor&apos;s Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$61,483/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction Managers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;878&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+25&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+223&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Bachelor&apos;s Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$46.91/hr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Employment Outlook, Education Requirements for Occupations, and Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These projections serve as a valuable roadmap for career seekers and for the education and workforce development community in Northwest Minnesota. As our region adapts to demographic changes and evolving workforce needs, making informed decisions about education and training will be more crucial than ever. While overall job growth may be slower than in the past decade, opportunities abound across various fields and education levels. Whether looking at fast-growing occupations like Nurse Practitioners and Medical Services Managers, or stable careers with consistent openings like Teachers and Nursing Assistants, the data show promising paths forward. The key is matching educational investments with occupations that offer both job security and satisfying wages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about employment projections in Northwest Minnesota, contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>655211</id><pubdate>2024-11-25T17:32:34Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>From 2020 to 2023, Northwest Minnesota’s population grew by more than 5,900 people, or 1%.</Description><Audience/><Title>People Moving into Northwest Minnesota Drives Population Growth and Boosts the Labor Force</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>People Moving into Northwest Minnesota Drives Population Growth and Boosts the Labor Force</Title><title>2024-10-18 Population ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-649867&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-10-21T20:00:38Z</Date><ShortDescription>From 2020 to 2023, Northwest Minnesota’s population grew by more than 5,900 people, or 1%.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;From 2020 to 2023, Northwest Minnesota&apos;s population grew by more than 5,900 people, or 1%. All this growth is attributable to more people moving into the region than moving out— positive net migration. Increased net migration to rural counties has been a trend &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ruralmn.org/the-state-of-rural-2024/#:~:text=People,growth%20over%20the%20coming%20decades.&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;in Minnesota statewide&lt;/a&gt;, as well as &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2024/february/net-migration-spurs-renewed-growth-in-rural-areas-of-the-united-states/#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20rural%20(nonmetro)%20population,locations%20continued%20in%202021%E2%80%9322.&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;nationally&lt;/a&gt;. According to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/107838/eib-261.pdf?v=8138.2&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;USDA Economic Research Service&lt;/a&gt;, &quot;f ear of exposure to COVID-19 in metro areas and the subsequent increase in remote work contributed to a major shift in migration patterns.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;People moving for quality-of-life factors, so called &quot;amenity migration,&quot; has been long recognized as a draw to rural areas. Natural beauty and outdoor recreation of lakes, forests and prairielands in Northwest Minnesota have drawn retirees, and now remote work i allows for more locational freedom. According to a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.aem.org/news/the-rural-migration-trend-what-to-make-of-it-why-its-happening-and-where-its-headed#:~:text=In%20celebrating%20National%20Agriculture%20Week,building%20something%2C%E2%80%9D%20Smither%20added.&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2021 survey&lt;/a&gt; done by Paulsen, a marketing agency based in South Dakota, 66% of Americans would consider moving to a rural home or a subdivision if telecommuting was an option. More land and space around a home, house affordability, general lower cost of living, fewer people, less traffic and a safe environment with clean air and water are some reasons cited by survey respondents for moving to a rural area.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In-migration plays a prominent role in Northwest Minnesota&apos;s recent population growth (see Figure 1). Net migration from moves made within the U. S., called domestic net migration, are separate from the net migration from moves made to and from the U.S. and foreign countries, called international net migration. Domestic net migration surged to the highest and second highest levels of the decade in 2021 and 2022, with 2017 being the only year that exceeded the level in 2023.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/101824_NW_figure1_tcm1045-649888.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Natural Change and Net Migration&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Natural Change and Net Migration&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;101824_NW_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Since Northwest Minnesota&apos;s natural rate of increase— the comparison of births and deaths — has slowed and even turned negative in the last three years, in-migration has become even more important. Negative natural change has only recently been occurring in Northwest Minnesota. Prior to 2021, positive natural change was the norm. Birth have been generally trending down since 2016, while a higher number of deaths occurred in 2021 and 2022 (see Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While deaths decreased in 2023, they are still higher than any year from 2013 through 2020. Thus, the switch to negative natural increase is from a combination of fewer births and more deaths, but more so from the increase in deaths. In 2023, there were 657 fewer births and 774 more deaths than in 2020. In fact, there were about 2,200 more deaths than births in Northwest Minnesota for a negative natural increase, while the gain from net migration was about 8,100. Northwest Minnesota&apos;s positive net migration overwhelmingly surmounted the negative natural change.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/101824_NW_figure2_tcm1045-649889.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Births, Deaths, and Natural Change&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Births, Deaths, and Natural Change&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;101824_NW_figure2&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A key question about amenity migration is how much it impacts the workforce. If nearly all the net migration is retirees, then there would be little impact. Table 1 estimates the number of people under age 65 moving into the region using the population estimates by age over three years from 2020 to 2023. If there is an increase in the number of people three years older from three years in the past, this is from net migration because there is no other cause for the number to increase. Granted, it slightly understates net migration because there is some decrease from deaths, but death rates are very low for ages under 65 years. According to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://hdpulse.nimhd.nih.gov/data-portal/mortality/table?cod=247&amp;amp;cod_options=cod_15&amp;amp;ratetype=aa&amp;amp;ratetype_options=ratetype_2&amp;amp;race=05&amp;amp;race_options=race_6&amp;amp;sex=0&amp;amp;sex_options=sex_3&amp;amp;age=077&amp;amp;age_options=age_11&amp;amp;ruralurban=0&amp;amp;ruralurban_options=ruralurban_3&amp;amp;yeargroup=5&amp;amp;yeargroup_options=year5yearmort_1&amp;amp;statefips=27&amp;amp;statefips_options=area_states&amp;amp;county=27000&amp;amp;county_options=counties_minnesota&amp;amp;comparison=counties_to_us&amp;amp;comparison_options=comparison_counties&amp;amp;radio_comparison=areas&amp;amp;radio_comparison_options=cods_or_areas&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;National Institutes of Health&lt;/a&gt;, the 2018 to 2022 death rate for Minnesotans aged 40 to 64 was 0.3%, and 0.1% for aged 20 to 39.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Table 1: Northwest Minnesota 2020 to 2023 Net Migration Estimates for Age Groups Under 65 Years&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Age in 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2020 Population&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Age in 2023&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2023 Population&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2020 -2023 Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-3 to 11*&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;105,502&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;0 to 14&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;107,639&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,137&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;12 to 21&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75,077&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;15 to 24&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72,925&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2,152&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;22 to 51&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;190,549&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;25 to 54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;192,731&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,182&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;52 to 61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77,185&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;55 to 64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;78,938&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,753&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Up to 61&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;448,313&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;0 to 64&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;452,233&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3,920&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;0.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;* Includes births in 2021 to 2023&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The estimated cumulative net migration of those under age 65 is 3,920 (see Table 1). The total net migration for all age groups is 8,143 (see Figure 1). Thus, about half (52%) of the net migration is in the traditional retirement age of 65 and over. With 2,137 net migrants under age 15 in 2023, that leaves around 1,783 in the 15 to 64 age group, or 22%. However, there were 2,182 net migrants aged 25 to 54, while there was a net loss of 2,152 from those aged 15 to 24 moving away.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;That is a net benefit to the Northwest region&apos;s workforce, because the labor force participation rate (LFPR) is the highest among those aged 25 to 54 years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau&apos;s 2018 to 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, the 25- to 54- year- old LFPR was 87%, compared to 71% for 16- to 24- year- olds and 69% for people aged 55 to 64. Thus, even with only a bit over 20% of the net migration in the traditional working age group, it is still providing a substantial boost to the region&apos;s labor force.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While a significant portion of the workers that moved to Northwest Minnesota are no doubt working remotely for employers outside the region, we can assume that the bulk of their wages are spent in the region, thereby increasing regional prosperity. Likewise for retirees that move to Northwest Minnesota; even if they aren&apos;t participating in the labor force, they&apos;re still contributing to the economy. Furthermore, many of the partners and family members of remote workers and retirees will work for employers in the region. Clearly this recent trend of increased net migration is a great benefit to the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>649867</id><pubdate>2024-10-21T17:07:27Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>October is Manufacturing Month in Minnesota, so it is a fitting time to celebrate that annual average Manufacturing employment in Northwest Minnesota was higher in 2023 than at any time since 2004.</Description><Audience/><Title>Manufacturing Employment is Pulling Ahead in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Manufacturing Employment is Pulling Ahead in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2024-09-17 Manufacturing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-644908&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-09-18T20:00:38Z</Date><ShortDescription>October is Manufacturing Month in Minnesota, so it is a fitting time to celebrate that annual average Manufacturing employment in Northwest Minnesota was higher in 2023 than at any time since 2004.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;October is Manufacturing Month in Minnesota, so it is a fitting time to celebrate that annual average &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/Northwest-Minnesota-2024_tcm1045-288726.pdf&quot;&gt;Manufacturing employment in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt; was higher in 2023 than at any time since 2004 (see Figure 1). What&apos;s more, 2023 marks the first time in the last three recession recoveries that Manufacturing employment has topped its pre-recession level. This is true both for Minnesota statewide and the Northwest region. Total employment in Minnesota and the Northwest exceeded 2019 levels in 2023. While Minnesota Manufacturing employment also exceeded 2019 levels in 2023, Northwest Minnesota manufacturing employment surpassed it&apos;s 2019 level one year earlier in 2022.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091724_NW_figure1_tcm1045-644913.png&quot; title=&quot;Minnesota and Northwest Minnesota Average Annual Manufacturing Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Minnesota and Northwest Minnesota Average Annual Manufacturing Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091724_NW_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In contrast, Manufacturing employment did not spring back along with total employment after the prior two recessions. In 2013, total employment for all industries in Minnesota surpassed its prior 2007 peak, marking employment recovery from the Great Recession. However, Manufacturing employment in Minnesota has not fully returned to levels seen prior to the Great Recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing employment did not surpass its 2007 level until 2019, whereas Northwest total employment surpassed its prior peak of 2006 by 2014, a year later than Minnesota statewide. Neither Minnesota nor the Northwest have regained Manufacturing employment levels seen prior to the Dot-Com Recession of 2001. However, the Northwest is closer to the Manufacturing employment count at the turn of the century than Minnesota statewide. Manufacturing employment in the Northwest is within 3.4% of its 2000 level, whereas Minnesota Manufacturing employment is down 17.6% since 2000.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Much of the Manufacturing employment growth in the Northwest is attributable to the Food, Beverage and Machinery Manufacturing subsectors (Figure 2). Food Manufacturing is the largest manufacturing subsector in the Northwest, and it added 819 jobs, or 14.6%, from first quarter 2014 to first quarter 2024. &lt;em&gt;(Note from here on I will drop &quot;first quarter&quot; when discussing the data in Figure 2, but keep in mind that all employment changes listed for 2024 or compared to a time period ending in 2024 refer to the first quarter. First quarter 2024 is the most recent Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages data available.)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Food Manufacturing grew much faster in the second half of the decade: It grew 3.6%, adding 200 jobs, in the five years from 2014 to 2019, while it grew 10.6%, adding 619 jobs, from 2019 to 2024. Looking to the future, according to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Employment Outlook&lt;/a&gt;, Food Manufacturing employment is projected to add over 370 additional jobs from 2022 to 2032, or nearly 6% growth. &lt;em&gt;Note that DEED&apos;s Employment Outlook is an annual average for 2022 to 2032, not first quarter as shown in Figure 2).&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091724_NW_figure2_tcm1045-644915.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Subsector Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Subsector Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091724_NW_figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Machinery Manufacturing is the third largest manufacturing subsector, and it added the largest number of jobs over the decade from 2014 to 2024. However, Machinery Manufacturing had a much stronger surge from 2014 to 2019, adding 745 jobs or 22.7% growth, than from 2019 to 2024, when it added 202 jobs for 5% growth. While Machinery Manufacturing growth slowed significantly over the latest five years, note that it is projected to grow 8.2% over the decade from 2022 to 2032, according to DEED&apos;s Employment Outlook. This growth is very important to the regional prosperity because Machinery Manufacturing has the second highest average annual wages of the Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing subsectors at $75,712, compared to $64,948 for the entire Manufacturing sector and $51,376 for Total, All Industries. Chemical Manufacturing pays the highest of these subsectors at $89,960.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Beverage Manufacturing is the Northwest&apos;s third smallest Manufacturing subsector, but it added the third largest number of jobs from 2014 to 2024. Employment increased nearly five-fold with 288 additional jobs. These jobs were gained evenly between the first and second half of the decade: 143 jobs were added from 2014 to 2019, and 145 were added from 2019 to 2024. Craft brewing and distilling has had a strong growth trend in Northwest Minnesota, as well as statewide and nationwide. The number of Breweries in Northwest Minnesota increased from four in 2014 to 16 in 2023, according to DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages. The number of craft breweries reached an all-time high of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics-and-data/state-craft-beer-stats/&quot;&gt;237 in Minnesota&lt;/a&gt; and an all-time high of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2024/04/18/US-craft-beer-The-latest-market-statistics&quot;&gt;9,683 in the U. S.&lt;/a&gt; in 2023. Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Beverage Manufacturing subsector employment is expected to moderate from 2022 to 2032 according to DEED&apos;s Employment Outlook, but still have brisk growth of nearly 21%, adding about 70 additional jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Plastics &amp;amp; Rubber Products Manufacturing ranks near the middle of the Northwest&apos;s Manufacturing subsectors by employment size; however, it is fourth in terms of the number of jobs added, increasing by 162 jobs, or 19%, from 2014 to 2024. Most of this growth happened in the second half of the decade, with an additional 103 jobs, or 11.3% growth, from 2019 to 2024. Growth from 2022 to 2032 is projected to be a slower 6.5%, with 69 additional jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Although Electrical Equipment &amp;amp; Appliance Manufacturing is Northwest Minnesota&apos;s smallest subsector, it is worth noting that employment tripled from 2014 to 2024, with 124 additional jobs gained. The job additions were split close to evenly between the first and second halves of this decade. Prospects look good for this subsector to beat the projected 10 additional jobs from 2022 to 2032 because 16 jobs were added already between first quarter 2022 and first quarter 2024.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Besides Beverage Manufacturing and Electrical Equipment &amp;amp; Appliance Manufacturing, the seven smallest of the manufacturing subsectors in Figure 2 all had employment declines from 2019 to 2024. However, all of these are expected to grow employment from 2022 to 2032, except Textile Product Mills which is expected to have stable employment. Thus, these smaller subsectors are expected to add to manufacturing employment over the longer term.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Circling back to some of the largest of the Northwest&apos;s Manufacturing subsectors, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing is the second largest, and it is great to see employment stabilizing from 2019 to 2024 after a loss of 374 jobs from 2014 to 2019. This subsector only added 26 jobs from 2019 to 2024, but employment was declining from 2019 to 2022. If the region realizes the projected 165 additional jobs from 2022 to 2032, that would represent stable employment compared to 2024 levels.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing is the fourth largest manufacturing subsector, and it experienced a slight employment decline from 2019 to 2024. However, if our projections are correct, we can expect a return to growth with a 4.1% increase, or 165 jobs to be added from 2022 to 2032.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Wood Product Manufacturing is fifth largest, and first quarter employment has bounced around between 3,100 jobs and 3,180 jobs over the decade from 2014 to 2024. Wood Product Manufacturing employment is projected to continue to be essentially trendless over the decade from 2022 to 2032, with just 48 jobs lost, or a -1.5% decline.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To round out the discussion of Figure 2, the three remaining subsectors of Printing, Computer &amp;amp; Electronic Product, and Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing each had stable employment from 2019 to 2024. While employment in Printing is projected to decline by 81 jobs, or 5.9% from 2022 to 2032, employment in Computer &amp;amp; Electronic Product Manufacturing is projected to increase by 81 jobs, or 8.4% from 2022 to 2032. Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing employment is expected to decrease slightly by 17 jobs, or -1.9% from 2022 to 2032.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, the entire Manufacturing sector is projected to increase by 619 jobs, or 2.2% from 2022 to 2032. The projected employment declines in Nonmetallic Mineral Product and Wood Product Manufacturing are expected to be more than offset by gains in other Manufacturing subsectors. Thus, Manufacturing employment in Northwest Minnesota has not only surpassed its 2005 level, prior to the Great Recession (Figure 1), it is also expected to hold up through 2032.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This is great news because, as mentioned above, Manufacturing jobs pay well above average wages. This adds to the prosperity of the region not only for those who work in Manufacturing, but also because a portion of these wages are spent on other goods and services supplied by other industries in the region. All of this is certainly worth celebrating for &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/industry/manufacturing&quot;&gt;Manufacturing Month 2024!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;You can find a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/2024-manufacturing-month-events&quot;&gt;listing of career exploration and hiring events&lt;/a&gt; taking place throughout the month around the state.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>644908</id><pubdate>2024-09-18T13:31:36Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>September is Workforce Development Month, celebrating the vital contributions of workforce development programs across the United States – including here in Minnesota.</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce Development Progress and Potential by the Numbers</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce Development Progress and Potential by the Numbers</Title><title>2024-08-08 Workforce ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-641695&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-08-20T20:00:38Z</Date><ShortDescription>September is Workforce Development Month, celebrating the vital contributions of workforce development programs across the United States – including here in Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;September is &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/WorkforceDevelopmentMonth&quot;&gt;Workforce Development Month&lt;/a&gt;, celebrating the vital contributions of workforce development programs across the United States – including here in Minnesota. It serves as a reminder of the importance of investing in human capital, recognizing the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders—including employers, job seekers and community organizations—in building a skilled workforce that drives the prosperity of our region. With this in mind, let&apos;s look at the change in workforce demographics in our region over the past five years by comparing Census &lt;a href=&quot;https://data.census.gov/&quot;&gt;American Community Survey (ACS)&lt;/a&gt; data from 2022, which is the most recent available, to 2017. This shows workforce development gains and potential for future gains.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given the array of workforce development programs and the diverse groups they serve, this blog involves a large table full of numbers (Table 1). Don&apos;t be daunted. To start off, note that the overall labor force participation rate (LFPR) for the total labor force decreased 1.1 points while the unemployment rate increased 0.2 points. This reflects the Pandemic Recession as well as increased retirements lowering the LFPR, but also highlight the importance of workforce development.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;Table 1: Northwest Minnesota Employment Characteristics 2022, and Change from 2017&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Age&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Labor Force&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt; Labor Force Participation Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Unemployment Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change from 2017&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change from 2017 (% points&lt;/em&gt;)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change from 2017 (% points&lt;/em&gt;)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total Labor Force&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;289,474&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,494&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;63.1%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4.4%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; 16 to 19 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16,518&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+774&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;56.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.0&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; 20 to 24 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,767&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-508&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.4&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; 25 to 44 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;113,053&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6,610&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;87.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; 45 to 54 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;53,203&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7,481&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-12.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; 55 to 64 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;57,040&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+718&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;68.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.8&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; 65 to 74 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17,671&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,138&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+21.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.9&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; 75 years &amp;amp; over&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,219&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+289&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Employment Characteristics by Race &amp;amp; Hispanic Origin&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;White Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;261,369&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5,864&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;62.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.6&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Black or African American&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,374&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+818&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+32.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;70.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.5&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;American Indian&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,954&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-999&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-11.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;58.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.5&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Asian or Other Pac. Islanders&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,342&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+281&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+13.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;64.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.6&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;0.0&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Some Other Race&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,077&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,730&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+128.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Two or More Races&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,290&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7,481&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+196.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;68.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.8&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.0&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hispanic or Latino&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,243&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,995&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+27.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.6&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Employment Characteristics by Veteran Status, Age 18 to 64 years&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Veterans&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,599&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2,434&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-18.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.6&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Employment Characteristics by Disability, Age 20 to 64 years&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;With Any Disability&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,712&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,966&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+18.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.0&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Employment Characteristics by Educational Attainment, 25 to 64 years&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Population, 25 to 64 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;223,293&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-170&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;81.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.5&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; Less than H.S. Diploma&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,770&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-471&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.6&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.4&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; H.S. Diploma or Equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;56,973&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3,741&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.8&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; Some College or Assoc. Degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;91,584&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,850&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.7&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.5&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; Bachelor&apos;s Degree or Higher&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63,973&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5,889&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;87.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.4&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates, 2018-2022 and 2013-2017&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The 16 to 19 and 20 to 24 year olds in the Northwest have the highest unemployment rates of all the age groups. This is true throughout the U.S. due to their lack of work experience and skills, and in part to their lack of maturity. Thus, youth is a key focus of workforce development. However, Northwest youth aged 16 to 19 increased their work experience over the past five years with a 2-point increase in LFPR and 1.1-point decrease in unemployment, which were both the largest for any age group over the past 5 years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The labor force can grow due to population growth or LFPR increase, and the growth in the age 16 to 19 was from a combination of both. In contrast, the population of youth aged 20 to 24 decreased 3.2%. However, the labor force aged 20 to 24 only decreased 1.7% due to increased labor force participation. Thus, even though the unemployment rate of youth aged 20 to 24 increased the most of any age group, this is not all bad because it occurred with an increase in the number and percentage of 20- to 24-year-olds seeking work. Workforce development professionals can help young people – and anyone – looking for work in Minnesota by assisting people in identifying interests and skills, setting career goals, connecting with training programs and other career exploration and job search services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking at unemployment by racial and ethnic groups, the unemployment rate for American Indian residents declined by a higher percentage than any other group and during a five year time period when overall unemployment in the region increased by 0.2%. This decline in American Indian unemployment rate occurred with only a slight decline in LFPR, meaning the decline in unemployment rate was not due to workers being discouraged and ceasing job search.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;All racial and ethnic groups except American Indians haves higher LFPRs than white workers, and all increased LFPRs in the past five years. That, combined with the fast growth in these labor force cohorts, especially compared to the 1.2% growth in the overall labor force, means our increasing labor force diversity is fueling growth. These demographic cohorts are younger than the white population, which has a larger percentage of retired people. The fact that all groups except for Asian or Other Pacific Islanders have a higher unemployment rate than White Alone indicates the potential for workforce development efforts among diverse communities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Veterans and workers with a disability (which also includes veterans with a disability) have higher unemployment rates and greater increases in unemployment over this time. However, LFPR also increased by 1.1 and 2 points, respectively. This, along with the labor force growth of workers with a disability, is also an opportunity for workforce development efforts.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In terms of educational attainment, the statistics clearly show that education is a key part of our workforce development structure. Unemployment rates are lower for those with a high school diploma or a bachelor&apos;s degree or higher. The LFPR is higher for those with some college or an associate degree, many of whom may continue their education past age 25.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With the progress and opportunity demonstrated by the labor force demographics, I would like to extend my gratitude to all who contribute to developing our region&apos;s workforce. I greatly appreciate the dedicated professionals in our workforce development system who serve our region&apos;s workers and employers. There are two Workforce Development Boards in this region of Minnesota, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.nwpic.net/&quot;&gt;Northwest Private Industry Council (PIC)&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.rmcep.com/&quot;&gt;Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (RMCEP)&lt;/a&gt;. As part of the statewide &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/&quot;&gt;CareerForce&lt;/a&gt; system, staff from these workforce development organizations, along with staff from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and community partners serve hundreds of job seekers and employers across the region every year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;I also recognize the efforts of all who help youth get work experience, including parents, teachers, mentors and supervisors. The employers that dedicate resources to workforce development when the costs are easily counted and the benefits while huge are harder to measure get my thanks as well. Workers who continually gain skills and adapt to change should also be celebrated this month. The combined efforts that equip individuals with the skills necessary for fulfilling careers benefit everyone in our region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>641695</id><pubdate>2024-08-20T13:47:31Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>In Northwest Minnesota, there is an increasing need for housing to enable growth of the region&apos;s workforce.</Description><Audience/><Title>Why Does Meeting Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce Needs Require More Housing?</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Why Does Meeting Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce Needs Require More Housing?</Title><title>2024-07-16 Housing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-632152&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-07-16T20:00:38Z</Date><ShortDescription>In Northwest Minnesota, there is an increasing need for housing to enable growth of the region&apos;s workforce.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest Minnesota, there is an increasing need for housing to enable growth of the region&apos;s workforce. According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs&quot;&gt;U. S. Census ACS 5-year estimates&lt;/a&gt;, the Northwest region&apos;s total housing units increased 2.4% from 2012 to 2022, while the population increased 4%. That population growth is increasingly driven by people moving to the region from other regions, states, and countries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Figure 1 shows the net population increase from births minus deaths, which is called &quot;natural increase,&quot; and people moving in minus people moving out, called &quot;net migration.&quot; These are the only two ways the population can grow. The region saw a positive natural increase throughout most of the last decade, having more births than deaths. But from 2016 to 2018, net migration had a greater contribution, and since 2020 it has been the only contributor to population growth since the region has shifted to having more deaths than births. For additional workers to replace retirees and fill a growing number of jobs, those workers need a place to live.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/071624_nw_figure1_tcm1045-632158.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Net Migration and Natural Increase&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Net Migration and Natural Increase&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;071624_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Over the past decade, accommodating the increased population has been somewhat aided by a slight increase in average household size for owner-occupied housing, from 2.44 people per household in 2012 to 2.46 in 2022. Renter-occupied housing remained at 2.02 people per household over this time, according to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs&quot;&gt;U. S. Census ACS 5-year estimates&lt;/a&gt;. However, there are much larger trends at play that generate a need for more housing to accommodate workforce growth. For starters, the change in household size distribution creates a substantial need for more housing even as the averages appear benign (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 1: Northwest Minnesota Household Size Distribution, 2012 to 2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Households&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2012&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2012 to 2022 Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1-Person&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63,595&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;70,293&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6,698&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;2-Person&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;89,963&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;90,767&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+804&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;3-person&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,784&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,264&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,520&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;4-or-more Person&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;45,386&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;45,237&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-149&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;228,728&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;234,561&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5,833&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: U.S. Census ACS 5-year Estimates&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Households of three or more decreased, while two-person, and especially one-person households increased. Note that this includes both homeowner units and rentals combined, and provides a more complete picture of the household size trend. This trend implies a need for more housing, even if there were a static population. But the population in the Northwest is growing and aging – meaning there are more retirements – and the number of jobs is also growing. More workers are needed in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;What&apos;s more, the trend in number of workers per household clearly shows the need (Table 2). We see a decrease in two-worker households, thought that is more than replaced by those with one worker. Granted, there was also 3.8% growth in households with three or more workers, but that is the smallest category and only amounts to 500 households. There is more than ten times that increase in no-worker households. This is the biggest change both numerically and percentagewise. I get it: people want to retire at some point. But retirees still need goods and services in the region, and the workers that provide them need a place to live, too.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 2: Northwest Minnesota Distribution of Workers per Household, 2012 to 2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Households&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2012&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2012 to 2022 Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;No workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;68,774&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;73,820&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5,046&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1 worker&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75,077&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77,224&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,147&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;2 workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71,680&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69,814&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,866&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;3 or more workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13,197&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13,703&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+506&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;228,728&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;234,561&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5,833&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: U.S. Census ACS 5-year Estimates&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The overall increased need for housing is revealed by the housing vacancy rates trend (Figure 2). This is the vacancy rate of all units available for year-round residences, excluding second homes, short-term vacation rentals and such. The rate of homes for sale (also known as the homeowner vacancy rate) is clearly declining, meaning fewer available units for potential workers. While rental vacancies have been more stable, keep in mind that over three quarters of the region&apos;s year-round housing is homeowner units. The 23.7% share of rental units are not enough to flatten the downtrend vacancy trend for all housing units.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/071624_nw_figure2_tcm1045-632159.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Trend of Housing Unit Vacancy Rates&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Trend of Housing Unit Vacancy Rates&quot; style=&quot;width: 75%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;071624_nw_figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given the connection between housing and workforce, it is no wonder I am giving two presentations this summer on the need for housing. Employers and community leaders are paying attention to this issue and want to hear from a labor market analyst because it is a key piece in the region&apos;s workforce and economic development strategy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about Health Care employment in Northwest Minnesota, contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>632152</id><pubdate>2024-07-16T14:55:06Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Health Care &amp; Social Assistance employment in the Twin Cities and Southeast is at an all-time high, while every other region is below pre-pandemic levels. Notably, Northwest had the fastest overall job growth since 2018, but still experienced a decline in Health Care &amp; Social Assistance. </Description><Audience/><Title>Momentous Workforce Challenges Persist for Northwest Minnesota’s Health Care Industry</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Momentous Workforce Challenges Persist for Northwest Minnesota’s Health Care Industry</Title><title>2024-06-17 Health Care ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-627890&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-06-17T20:00:38Z</Date><ShortDescription>Health Care &amp; Social Assistance employment in the Twin Cities and Southeast is at an all-time high, while every other region is below pre-pandemic levels.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employment in the Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector increased from 2022 to 2023 in the Northwest, and in every other Minnesota Planning Area. However, workforce challenges continue and so does each region&apos;s need to address them. In fact, part of what I wrote for &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/580740&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;this blog a year ago&lt;/a&gt; remains true:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Employment in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance remains below pre-pandemic levels in Northwest Minnesota . However, in the Twin Cities Metro and Southeast Minnesota, this sector&apos;s employment is higher, and the large number of jobs in both pulls up Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment statewide.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment in the Twin Cities and Southeast is at an all-time high, while every other region is below pre-pandemic levels. Notably, Northwest had the fastest overall job growth since 2018, but still experienced a decline in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance. This is a stark contrast to the prior five-year period when Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment handily outpaced total employment growth in every region (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1:  Healthcare &amp;amp; Social Assistance and Total Employment by Planning Area&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Area&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot; rowspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2013 - 2018 Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2018 - 2023 Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Health Care &amp;amp;
&lt;br /&gt;
Social Assistance&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Total, All Industries Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Health Care &amp;amp;
&lt;br /&gt;
Social Assistance&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Total, All Industries Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2013&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2018&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2023&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jobs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jobs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Central&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;46,627&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;50,158&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;48,870&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,531&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,288&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Northeast&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;32,767&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;34,459&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;32,638&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,692&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,821&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northwest&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;36,820&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;39,362&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;39,089&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,542&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-273&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Southeast&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;60,127&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;65,247&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;66,409&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5,120&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,162&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Southwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;30,290&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;31,341&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;29,905&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,051&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,436&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Twin Cities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;238,683&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;275,363&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;291,689&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+36,680&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+15.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+16,326&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot; valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;446,773&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;497,257&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;511,376&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+50,484&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+11.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+14,119&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source:  DEED Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The differentiating factor of the Twin Cities and Southeast is the smaller share of Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment in the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care subsector (Figure 1). The Northwest&apos;s older population explains the higher share of employment in the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care subsector, as it does Southwest and Northeast. Rochester in the Southeast draws people from all over the world for acute and specialty health care, and Central is likely is a long-term care choice for many families in the West Metro. The difficulty recruiting and retaining Nursing Assistants is a primary factor that is holding back sector employment in these regions. This challenge is imperative to overcome because the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/031124_Northwest_tcm1045-133256.pdf#page=3&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest&apos;s aged 75 and over population has the fastest growth of any age cohort.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/061724_NW_figure1_tcm1045-627901.png&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1: Nursing and Residential Care Subsector Share of Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Sector Employment and Percent of population Age 80 and Over by Planning Area &quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1: Nursing and Residential Care Subsector Share of Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Sector Employment and Percent of population Age 80 and Over by Planning Area &quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;061724_NW_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While the Northwest looks to be faring relatively well (with a mere 0.7% employment decline) compared to other regions with large employment shares in the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care subsector, it is the Social Assistance subsector that is bolstering the sector&apos;s employment. Social Assistance employment grew a whopping 28% from 2020 to 2023, adding 1,664 jobs. Every other subsector is still below its peak employment in 2023, with Ambulatory Care down 353 jobs (-4.2%), Hospitals down 266 jobs (-2.1%), and Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities down 1,226 jobs (-9.9%). However, Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities did add 296 jobs (2.7%) from 2022 to 2023 (Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/061724_NW_figure2_tcm1045-627902.png&quot; title=&quot;Figure 2: Northwest Minnesota Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Subsector Employment, 2013 to 2023 &quot; alt=&quot;Figure 2: Northwest Minnesota Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Subsector Employment, 2013 to 2023 &quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;061724_NW_figure2&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;No doubt, the occupational health dangers and stresses of the pandemic have eased, and this has helped increase employment. But that would be true for all of the Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance subsectors, and to a lesser extent, the total of all industries. Wages are a key factor in the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities workforce challenge. Given the occupational mix, it is not a surprise that wages are lower than the Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector as a whole and lower than the total of all industries. But wage growth has also fallen short, compounding the issue (Figure 3). Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities wage growth was closing the gap from 2020 to 2022, but pulled back in 2023. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/061724_NW_figure3_tcm1045-627903.png&quot; title=&quot;Figure 3: Median Wage and Cumulative Wage Growth, First Quarter 2018 to First Quarter 2023 (Wages are inflation-adjusted first quarter constant dollars.*)&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 3: Median Wage and Cumulative Wage Growth, First Quarter 2018 to First Quarter 2023 (Wages are inflation-adjusted first quarter constant dollars.*)&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;061724_NW_figure3&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As I wrote a year ago, &quot;So, the solution for this industry, in my mind, is to make these jobs more desirable.&quot; In that blog I emphasized other factors besides wages that could bolster worker recruitment and retention, including more flexible and part-time shifts (and certainly avoiding double shifts). I can also point out the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.dol.gov/general/good-jobs/principles&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;U. S. Department of Labor&apos;s Good Jobs Principles&lt;/a&gt;. Although wage increases were accelerating last year, employers need to find other ways to attract people to these essential positions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;I have previously written about how the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities subsector is vital to the entire health care system, and demonstrated how &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/march-2024/labor-force.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;caregiving demands that are diverted to families affect worker availability for all industries&lt;/a&gt;.  More recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid promulgated &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/nursing-facilities-staffing-levels-standards-final-rule/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;staffing regulations for nursing homes that will add to the staffing challenge&lt;/a&gt;. Clearly, both higher wages and non-wage features are needed to meet the needs of our region&apos;s aging population.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about Health Care employment in Northwest Minnesota, contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>627890</id><pubdate>2024-07-25T17:40:33Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>While it is well known that Northwest Minnesota wages are generally lower than statewide wages, there are unique features of the Northwest that make wages for some occupations similar or even higher.</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Competitive Advantages Are Reflected in Higher Occupational Wages</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Competitive Advantages Are Reflected in Higher Occupational Wages</Title><title>2024-05-13 Wages ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-625642&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-05-28T18:00:40Z</Date><ShortDescription>While it is well known that Northwest Minnesota wages are generally lower than statewide wages, there are unique features of the Northwest that make wages for some occupations similar or even higher.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While it is well known that Northwest Minnesota wages are generally lower than statewide wages, there are unique features of the Northwest that make wages for some occupations similar or even higher. Advantages are often reflected in high concentrations of employment in certain occupations. It stands to reason that if a region has a competitive advantage in certain economic activities, there is likely to be a concentration of regional employment supporting those activities. Figure 1 identifies selected occupations with high employment concentrations and relatively high wages compared to Minnesota statewide. Only a small, manageable sample of highly concentrated occupations are featured here.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/052424_NW_figure1_tcm1045-625649.png&quot; title=&quot;Wages and Employment for Selected Northwest Minnesota Occupations with High Concentrations of Employment Compared to Minnesota Statewide&quot; alt=&quot;Wages and Employment for Selected Northwest Minnesota Occupations with High Concentrations of Employment Compared to Minnesota Statewide&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;052424_NW_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For all occupations, Northwest wages are 9.7% lower than statewide, with a median annual wage of $47,369 compared to $52,460 for Minnesota. This reflects the fact that the majority of jobs are in the higher paying, and higher cost of living, Twin Cities Metro Area. Specifically, an estimated 1,743,500 of the 2,881,100 jobs in the state, or just over 60% of Minnesota jobs are in the Twin Cities. The Twin Cities Metro has larger employers, including corporate headquarters, with highly paid employees. Also, large metro areas attract many top specialists due to the large market served. Large metro areas also tend to have higher-priced real estate, and higher cost of living in general.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;basic needs cost of living&lt;/a&gt; in the Twin Cities reflects this higher cost of living. For an average family of a partnered couple with one child where one parent works full-time and one part-time, the basic needs cost of living is $67,716 in the Twin Cities. In the Northwest, the same family&apos;s basic needs cost of living is $49,320. That&apos;s a difference of $18,396, or 37% less in the Northwest. Higher wages in the Twin Cities makes sense. The Northwest has the second lowest basic needs cost of living of Minnesota&apos;s six planning regions (with the Southwest lowest at $47,448 for this average family).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Thus, it is remarkable for the Northwest to have similar or higher wages than statewide. Figure 1 includes the broad occupation group as well as the selected specific occupations to show that often similar occupations in these groups are closer in wage to statewide than the total of all occupations. However, some groups are even further from the statewide wage. For example, Management occupations as a group have wages that are 23.5% lower in the Northwest. Life, Physical &amp;amp; Social Science occupations are 16.6% lower. These two broad occupational groups also have relatively low employment concentrations in the Northwest. Management is 0.78 the concentration of statewide, while Life, Physical &amp;amp; Social Science is 0.69 as concentrated. The group with the highest concentration is Farming, Fishing &amp;amp; Forestry with 2.42 times the statewide percentage of employment. It is also the group that is closest to statewide wages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Indeed, the Northwest&apos;s natural resources provide competitive advantage that allows workers to add great value to the goods and services produced, thereby reaping higher wages. Occupations from Farmers, Ranchers &amp;amp; Other Agricultural Managers, to Zoologists &amp;amp; Wildlife Biologists, to Forest &amp;amp; Conservation Technicians, to Agricultural Equipment Operators, to Farm Equipment Mechanics, to Food Processing Workers, to Packers &amp;amp; Packagers all add value to the natural resources of the region, making their work relatively highly compensated.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Seven of Minnesota&apos;s 18 Native American Casinos are in the Northwest Region, and Gambling Runners are instrumental to these operations. No doubt the region&apos;s natural beauty attracts tourists to support these operations. Likewise, Upholsterers are essential for the Transportation Equipment Manufacturing industry that builds boats, ATVs, and snowmobiles that are used to recreate in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Electrical Power-Line Installers &amp;amp; Repairers enable electricity to be moved through the vast region, while Earth Drillers (directional drillers) install utilities through rural distribution areas where trees and wetlands make overhead lines or trenching less feasible. Thus, the challenges of distance and natural features also lead to high value-added occupations.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;An important implication of this analysis is that a young person who wants to live in the Northwest could choose one of these highly concentrated occupations for a career in order to earn close to the same or higher wages compared to statewide and have even more purchasing power considering the much lower cost of living.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;I am not recommending this should be the main criteria for a choice of career, as interest and aptitude are foremost. Then, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand&lt;/a&gt; is the first labor market information tool to consult. However, if a person had a strong desire to stay in the region, it might be a factor in choosing one career over a similar one, for example, choosing wildlife biology rather than ecology, or choosing Tool &amp;amp; Die Making over Model Making.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>625642</id><pubdate>2024-05-28T14:27:10Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>DEED’s Graduate Employment Outcomes (GEO) Tool provides actual employment and wages of college program completers.</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota’s College Programs of Less Than Two Years Provide a Fast Track to In-Demand, Well-Paying Careers</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota’s College Programs of Less Than Two Years Provide a Fast Track to In-Demand, Well-Paying Careers</Title><title>2024-04-23 College ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-621557&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-04-23T18:00:40Z</Date><ShortDescription>DEED’s Graduate Employment Outcomes (GEO) Tool provides actual employment and wages of college program completers.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/graduate-employment-outcomes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes (GEO) Tool&lt;/a&gt; provides actual employment and wages of college program completers. This blog focuses on less-than-two-year programs offered in the Northwest that have the largest number of completers working in the Northwest region. The tool also provides the same information for two- and four-year degree programs, and for completers working anywhere in Minnesota. However, certificate and diploma programs – often called vocational programs – provide the shortest on-ramp to many careers that require postsecondary training.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 features three vocational areas of study at each local college in the 26-county Northwest region. These three were selected because they have the largest number of completers, and more completers who are working in Northwest Minnesota than anywhere else in Minnesota. Thus, these programs often provide opportunities for those that want a good job close to home without spending years in college. These are also the programs that quickly provide many trained workers to local employers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 1: Completers, Top Industry, and Northwest Minnesota Wage for Selected Instructional Programs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Institution/Program&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2021 Completers&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Completers that Reported MN Wages in 2023&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Top Industry of Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Median Wage of those working in Northwest1&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Alexandria Technical and Community College&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;60&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$24.13&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Precision Metal Working&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;39&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$24.09&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Carpenters&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Less than 10*&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$20.83&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Central Lakes College (Brainerd/Staples)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Ground Transportation&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;80&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;68&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$27.60&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Precision Metal Working&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.40&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota State Community and Technical College&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Electrical and Power Transmission Installers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;101&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;81&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$27.52&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;52&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$29.11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$23.44&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northland Community and Technical College&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;163&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.26&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;N/A*&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$21.22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wholesale Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$25.89&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northwest Technical College&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health and Medical Administrative Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Less than 10*&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;N/A*&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$19.54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Electrical and Power Transmission Installers2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$21.88&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.80&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;1 Wages of completers in 2018 to 2021&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;2 Completers are for 2020 due to low numbers in 2021.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;* Data for less than 10 students is suppressed to ensure confidentiality.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Graduate Employment Outcomes&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The &quot;Completers that Reported MN Wages in 2023&quot; column indicates the number of program completers employed in Minnesota in a job covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI), which is the source of these data. Those working in a different state are not available in DEED&apos;s wage records, nor are self-employed and contract workers. On that note, many completers will work in North Dakota, especially for programs at Northland (with the largest campus in East Grand Forks) and Minnesota State Community and Technical College (M State) with the largest campus in Moorhead.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Conversely, many completers from North Dakota educational institutions also work in Minnesota. The Grand Forks, ND – East Grand Forks, MN and Fargo, ND – Moorhead, MN metropolitan areas each are contiguous labor markets. Supplying workers on either side of the state border serves the combined labor market. However, we do not have program completion information for those who finished post-secondary programs in North Dakota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;There are also completers that are in wage records two years after completion, even if some of these are continuing their education. The GEO tool has this information for those continuing their education in Minnesota. For example, of the Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants completers, 3.2% of Alexandria, 4.8% of Central Lakes, and 26.9% of M State are continuing their education in Minnesota. No doubt most of these are pursuing a Registered Nursing or other health care program to further their career.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This points to another advantage of the vocational programs: academic credits apply toward an associate degree. While vocational programs are a &quot;fast track&quot;, they can also allow a continuing path to two-year or four-year degrees, and from there graduate or professional programs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;That said, completers would not have to continue with more education to get a job. Instead, these programs almost always train for occupations that are in high demand. Table 2 features all the &quot;Five Star&quot; occupations in demand (OID) for these instructional programs from DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;OID Tool&lt;/a&gt;. These are ranked in the top 20% of all 467 OID in Northwest Minnesota. These occupations also have many projected openings. Note that I have included &quot;First line supervisor&quot; positions, which show a potential future promotion for workers who complete theses instructional programs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For comparing median wages in Table 1 keep in mind that these are based on the actual earnings of instructional program completers in the second year after program completion. Workers would have less than two years&apos; experience at that point. The comparable hourly median for all occupations is $21.67. For all occupations that require no more than high school, the median hourly wage is $20.09.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These training programs also prepare completers for relatively high wage jobs, as shown in Table 2. By comparison, the median wage for all occupations in Northwest Minnesota is $21.67 per hour. However, it is more useful to compare to the median wage for all occupations that require no more than a high school education to see how much more one can earn completing a vocational program. Nearly all the occupations compare very favorably, with the lowest pay for Nursing Assistants, and the Nursing Assistant training is a minimum 75-hour program in Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Table 2:  Northwest Occupations in Demand for Instructional Programs Featured in Table 1&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Job Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;Current Demand Rank&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;Median Hourly Wage&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Northwest Projected Job Openings, 2020 to 2030&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Heavy &amp;amp; Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$24.85&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4,689&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nursing Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$18.25&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4,953&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Licensed Practical &amp;amp; Licensed Vocational Nurses&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$24.63&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,057&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Automotive Service Technicians &amp;amp; Mechanics&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;26&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.60&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,621&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Sales Representatives, Wholesale &amp;amp; Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$28.88&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,771&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Machinists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$23.28&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,182&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;First-Line Supervisors of Office &amp;amp; Administrative Support Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$29.41&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,278&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Carpenters&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$25.01&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,182&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Welders, Cutters, Solderers, &amp;amp; Brazers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;35&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$23.68&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,483&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Medical Secretaries &amp;amp; Administrative Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;40&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$21.03&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,171&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Electricians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$30.22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,360&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;First-Line Supervisors of Production &amp;amp; Operating Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$30.95&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,021&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;First-Line Supervisors of Transportation &amp;amp; Material-Moving Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$28.64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+776&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Automotive Body &amp;amp; Related Repairers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$23.93&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+297&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades &amp;amp; Extraction Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$37.97&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+683&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Operating Engineers &amp;amp; Other Construction Equipment Operators&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$29.65&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,105&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Bus &amp;amp; Truck Mechanics &amp;amp; Diesel Engine Specialists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$24.87&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+695&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, &amp;amp; Repairers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;78&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$34.31&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+543&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Cutting, Punching, &amp;amp; Press Machine Setters, Operators &amp;amp; Tenders&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;82&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$22.80&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+410&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;87&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$27.78&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+876&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Plumbers, Pipefitters, &amp;amp; Steamfitters&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;89&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$28.92&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+884&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Occupations in Demand Tool&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Clearly vocational programs provide a fast track to high demand, high pay careers in Northwest Minnesota. They are certainly worth considering if one has the need for speed in landing a job within the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>621557</id><pubdate>2024-04-23T20:44:52Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>DEED’s most recent regional Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) reveal a slight uptick in the 2023 annual unemployment rate. Does this mark the end of our tight labor market?</Description><Audience/><Title>Is Northwest Minnesota’s Tight Labor Market Loosening? The Long-Term Demographic Trend is the Knot</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Is Northwest Minnesota’s Tight Labor Market Loosening? The Long-Term Demographic Trend is the Knot</Title><title>2024-03-12 Labor Market ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-615405&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-03-26T18:00:40Z</Date><ShortDescription>DEED’s most recent regional Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) reveal a slight uptick in the 2023 annual unemployment rate. Does this mark the end of our tight labor market?</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s most recent regional &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/laus/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)&lt;/a&gt; reveal a slight uptick in the 2023 annual unemployment rate. Does this mark the end of our tight labor market? To answer this question, we need to understand the long-term demographic trends that underpin how Northwest Minnesota&apos;s labor market got so tight to begin with. Although it may seem so, our tight labor market did not begin with the pandemic recovery.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Figure 1 plots the labor force (blue line), which shows a clear slowdown in labor force growth starting around 2002. In fact, from 1990 to 2002 the labor force grew at a 1.8% annualized rate, then from 2002 to 2023 the labor force grew at a 0.3% annual rate – one-sixth the prior growth rate. Thus, our current tight labor market can be traced back to a trend that began more than two decades ago.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/032524_nw_figure1_tcm1045-615409.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment Rate, 1990 to 2023&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment Rate, 1990 to 2023&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;032524_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;That trend is defined by Northwest&apos;s largest working-age cohort, the Baby Boomers, progressing through the so-called &quot;prime working years&quot; of age 25 to 54. It is considered prime working years because it has the highest labor force participation rate. For example, in 2000 the labor force participation of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s population aged 25 to 54 was 86.3%, compared to 68.5% for 16 to 24 year olds and 30.1% for people aged 55 years and over.&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; Baby Boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, went from ages 26 to 44 in 1990 to ages 36 to 54 in 2000. Thus, our massive Baby Boomer cohort was in their prime working years for the entire 1990 to 2000 decade. After 2000, some Baby Boomers aged beyond their prime working years and had lower labor force participation. In 2000, people aged 55 to 59 had a 69.6% labor force participation, a significant drop from the 86.3% for prime working years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;At the same time, the population entering the 25 to 54 year old age group was smaller than the Baby Boomer population aging out. This is because Generation X was not nearly as large as the Baby Boomer generation and a significant share of the Baby Boomer&apos;s kids left the region before aging into their prime working years. There were 75,812 people aged 15 to 24 in 2000, but ten years later there were only 61,193 people aged 25 to 34 in 2010.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In contrast, more Baby Boomers were moving into Northwest Minnesota. There were 69,800 people aged 45 to 54 in 2000, compared to 73,434 people aged 55 to 64 in 2010. Despite growth, this demographic trend tightens the labor force as the Baby Boomers age because labor force participation drops progressively for people aged 65 years and older. What&apos;s more, while the Baby Boomers are participating less and less in the labor force, they are still adding to the demand for labor in the region, as they consume goods and services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;From that demographic trend alone, one would have expected the labor force to tighten significantly starting in 2011 when the Baby Boomers began turning age 65. From 2011 to 2015, the labor force participation rate for people aged 65 to 74 was 24%, much lower than the 68.8% for people aged 55 to 64.&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, the Great Recession and its aftermath overwhelmed this demographic trend. Figure 1 shows Northwest&apos;s unemployment rate spiked to an all-time recorded annual high of 8.2% in 2009. Even with the Baby Boomers reaching the traditional retirement age of 65 during this time frame, the unemployment rate did not reach a new decade-plus low until 2015, when it descended to 4.7%. This is also when the number of unemployed workers was decreasing – note the shrinking blue shaded area around 2015, which is the difference between the labor force and the employed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While the unemployment rate continued to drop to its pre-pandemic annual low of 4.0% in 2018, the labor force remained flat, with 300,940 workers in 2015 compared to 300,359 workers in 2018. With the recovery from the Great Recession complete, the pre-existing demographic trend had reasserted its restraint on labor force growth and resumed its tightening of the labor market.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This labor market tightening trend is measured by the decreasing unemployment rate. Figure 1 includes a best-fit linear trendline of the unemployment rate to illustrate this. The Pandemic Recession caused a brief countertrend increase in 2020, but the unemployment rate resumed its decreasing trend by 2021. The reassertion of declining unemployment – indicating a tightening labor market – after two recessions more than a decade apart (2009 and 2020) shows the relentless influence of demographics on the Northwest&apos;s labor market.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the saying goes, &quot;Demographics is destiny.&quot; We have five more years until the youngest Baby Boomers reach age 65, so we are predisposed to have a tight labor market at least until then. Still, barring some new shock I suspect we will be closer to a 4% state unemployment rate than a 3% unemployment rate in the coming couple of years as the economy finishes rebalancing from the substantial pandemic disruption. The Northwest Minnesota unemployment rate already ticked up from 3.2% in 2022 to 3.5% in 2023, and the U.S. unemployment rate had climbed to 3.9% in February 2024.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, Northwest&apos;s unemployment rate trendline will continue down to sub-4% unless something breaks the demographic trend. One imaginable trend-breaker is if Generation Z, which includes people from 10 to 25 years of age, does not follow the same young adult out-migration pattern as the Millennials. Or, if there were a large net in-migration of working-age adults between 25 and 54 years of age. Another disruptor is rapid labor-saving advances from automation or artificial intelligence. I&apos;ll check in with a blog on LAUS annual data in a future year to let you know if the trend is broken.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; /&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census, SF3, Table PCT035, accessed at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.data.census.gov&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.data.census.gov&lt;/a&gt; on 3/10/2024.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;The 2015 American Community Survey 5-year estimates combines survey responses for the five years 2011 through 2015.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>615405</id><pubdate>2024-03-26T18:52:55Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>The cost of housing is a big and growing portion of most household budgets.</Description><Audience/><Title>Are Increasing Housing Costs Gobbling Up All of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Income Growth?</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Are Increasing Housing Costs Gobbling Up All of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Income Growth?</Title><title>2024-02-22 Housing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-610379&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-02-22T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>The cost of housing is a big and growing portion of most household budgets.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The cost of housing is a big and growing portion of most household budgets. The increasing cost of housing has been a major contributor to the inflation experienced over the past few years. So, how much more of Northwest Minnesota residents&apos; income is going toward housing compared to the past? We can compare American Community Survey (ACS) housing cost and income data from 2017 to 2022 to help answer this question.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;First, let me explain and quantify &quot;housing has been a major contributor to inflation experienced over the past few years.&quot; Over the four years from 2018 to 2022, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was running at a 3.9% annual rate, while the shelter component of CPI increased at a 3.6% annual rate. So, it seems shelter cost increases have been less of a burden than overall inflation. However, the weight of shelter in the CPI increased from 32.4% to 36.2% from 2018 to 2022. That means the typical U.S. consumer paid 3.8% more of total monthly expenditures for shelter. Thus, even though housing costs increased less than prices overall, the budget impact was higher.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;How much of inflation was due to shelter cost? Shelter contributed 22.8% of the total inflation from 2018 to 2022.  In contrast, shelter accounted for only 7.3% of the CPI increase from 2013 to 2017, with inflation running at a 1.3% annual rate and shelter&apos;s weight increasing less than 0.4% over these years.  Note that most recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;shelter was responsible for over 50% of December 2023&apos;s inflation&lt;/a&gt;. So, the importance of housing cost has not diminished.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given the impact of shelter on the CPI, has housing cost inflation been eating up an increasing share of Northwest Minnesota resident&apos;s income? The answer is no, at least according to Census data, and that is welcome news. Table 1 shows the percent of household income going to monthly housing cost for homeowners with and without a mortgage, as well as for renters.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;Table 1:  Housing Cost as a Share of Household Income, 2017 and 2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Units&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;U.S.&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022 Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022 Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2017 Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022 Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2017 Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022 Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2017 Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Occupied Housing Units&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;234,561&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Owner-Occupied&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;179,053&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;64.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;With Mortgage&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;101,673&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;56.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;58.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Selected Monthly Owner Costs Percent of Household Income&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Less than 25.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;64.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;63.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;68.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;65.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;62.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;59.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;25.0% to 34.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;16.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;17.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;16.1%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;17.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;16.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;18.1%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;35% or More&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;18.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;18.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;15.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;16.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;20.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;22.3%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Without Mortgage&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77,380&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;43.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;42.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;35.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;38.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Selected Monthly Owner Costs Percent of Household Income&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Less than 25.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;83.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;83.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;84.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;84.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;82.3%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;81.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;25.0% to 34.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;35% or More&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9.1%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;10.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;10.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Renter-Occupied&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55,508&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;35.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Monthly Rent (plus utilities if not included) Percent of Household Income&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Less than 25.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;43.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;40.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;40.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;40.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;38.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;37.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;25.0% to 34.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;22.4%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;20.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;22.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;21.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;20.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;20.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;35% or More&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;34.1%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;38.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;37.1%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;37.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;40.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;41.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2013-2017 and 2018-2022&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The share of Northwest households with a mortgage spending from 25% up to 35% of income decreased from 17.9% to 16.7% from 2017 to 2022. That 1.7% decrease produced a roughly equivalent gain in households spending less than 25% of income on housing, with those spending 35% or more remaining about the same (with a slight discrepancy due to rounding). In other words, a larger percentage of Northwest households with a mortgage spent less than 25% of income on housing cost, compared to national numbers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even then, data show that housing costs increased, as just under 69% of Northwest households with a mortgage spent $1,000 or more on monthly housing costs in 2017 compared to just under 82% in 2022.  However, incomes also increased, which kept housing affordability in line. Median household income was $53,847 in 2017, compared to $67,528 in 2022. Taken together, income gains outweighed housing cost increases.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This was also true but for a much lesser extent for homeowner households without a mortgage. The share of households paying less than 25% of income for housing increased slightly (0.3%) from 2017 to 2022. No doubt many without a mortgage are retired and did not benefit from &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/597652&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;wage gains that exceeded inflation&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Comparing to statewide, the share of Minnesota households with a mortgage paying less than 25% of income for housing increased even more than in the Northwest, meaning a larger share were paying less of their income. While the share paying from 25% up to 35% in Minnesota declined only slightly more than in the Northwest (-1.4% compared to -1.2%), Minnesota also had a decrease of 1% in the percentage of households paying 35% or more.  Minnesota started with a larger share of less than 25% mortgage households, and the gap widened from 2017 to 2022.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Compared to the U.S., both Minnesota and Northwest have a larger share of mortgage households in the less than 25% group and a smaller share in the 35% or more group. To summarize the comparisons for mortgage households, Minnesota has a lower relative housing cost burden than the Northwest, and the Northwest has a lower relative housing cost burden than the U.S. However, Minnesota&apos;s advantage in housing cost burden narrowed slightly compared to the U.S. from 2017 to 2022. The Northwest&apos;s advantage in housing cost burden narrowed even more compared to the U.S.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For Minnesota compared to the U.S., the lower cost burden for households with a mortgage is due to higher incomes in Minnesota, where a majority of residents live in the Twin Cities area. Minnesota&apos;s median household income was $84,313 compared to $75,149 for the U.S., while median housing costs for households with a mortgage were essentially the same at $1,818 in Minnesota compared to $1,828 in the U.S.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For the Northwest compared to the U.S., the lower cost burden is due to lower housing costs. Nearly 88% of U.S. households with a mortgage pay over $1,000 per month in housing costs compared to, as mentioned above, just under 82% for Northwest, and with a lower median income at $67,528 in the Northwest. To summarize, there is a lower housing cost burden in the Northwest compared to the U.S. because the lower housing cost more than makes up for the lower incomes of households with a mortgage.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/022124_nw_figure1_tcm1045-610380.png&quot; title=&quot;Housing Costs in Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Housing Costs in Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;022124_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Switching focus to renters, the Northwest has a lower percent paying 35% or more of their income for rent and utilities than Minnesota and the U.S.  The renter costs are designed to be comparable to home ownership. A greater percent of renters&apos; income goes to housing costs than homeowners for the Northwest, Minnesota, and the US.  However, the good news is that Northwest renters paying more than 35% of income declined more than Minnesota statewide and the U.S., with the 4.4% drop redistributed as a 1.6% gain in the 25% up to 35% group and a 2.8% gain in the less than 25% group. This brings the renter housing cost burden in the Northwest from higher than statewide in 2017 to lower than Minnesota statewide in 2022.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To wrap up, the CPI shows an increasing share of nationwide expenditures for shelter. Using ACS data on household income and housing cost, I show that in Northwest Minnesota this trend has not been gobbling up all the income growth from 2017 to 2022. Income gains outweighed housing cost increases in the Northwest, Minnesota statewide, and the U.S. The gains were realized most by homeowners with a mortgage. No doubt this reflects the fact that most homeowners have a fixed rate mortgage, paid with income that inflated.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, the housing cost burden for Northwest Minnesota mortgage households is higher than statewide, and the gap widened from 2017 to 2022. The Northwest&apos;s lower housing cost provides a cost burden advantage over the U.S., but this advantage narrowed from 2017 to 2022. Renter households have a higher housing cost burden than homeowners in the Northwest, Minnesota, and the U.S. The Northwest&apos;s burden for renters is lowest, and this advantage increased from 2017 to 2022. While this is good news, bear in mind that the highest rent places are in large cities, not rural areas like the Northwest. One should also bear in mind that the good news about incomes outpacing housing cost does not mean that there is enough housing, nor does it reflect the situation for aspiring homebuyers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>610379</id><pubdate>2024-02-22T18:08:59Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>My last blog identified the effects of the pandemic on industry employment trends. </Description><Audience/><Title>Workforce Demographic Trends Before and After the Pandemic: Caregiving Drove the Change</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Workforce Demographic Trends Before and After the Pandemic: Caregiving Drove the Change</Title><title>2024-01-22 QWI ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-607902&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2024-01-26T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>My last blog identified the effects of the pandemic on industry employment trends. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;My &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/604479&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;last blog identified the effects of the pandemic on industry employment trends&lt;/a&gt;. This month, I examine how workforce trends were impacted by the pandemic and show that caregiving is a major underlying factor.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To use the most current data available, I take the annual average beginning-of-quarter employment for second quarter 2022 through first quarter 2023, which was recently released. Since it covers four quarters, I&apos;ll call this annual employment up to the first quarter of the year &quot;year to first quarter.&quot; Looking at four quarters of employment data is necessary due to the huge seasonal employment declines in first quarter, for example in Construction and Leisure &amp;amp; Hospitality.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Granted, it is odd to think about a year ending in the first quarter rather than the fourth quarter. However, with the pandemic hitting in March 2020, this actually captures the pre-pandemic workforce trends as close to the start of the pandemic as possible. Comparing year to first quarter 2017 to 2020 provides the pre-pandemic trend, then comparing year to first quarter 2020 to 2023 shows the change in trend after the pandemic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 shows the changes by age and sex. This shows the same trends from 2020 to 2023 as the previous blog: &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/570200&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Youth and Seniors Entered Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce in the Pandemic Recovery; Caregivers Exited&lt;/a&gt;. The addition of three more quarters of data of ongoing recovery did not reverse these trends identified with data through second quarter 2022. However, Table 1 does show that some of these changes were consistent with changes already occurring prior to the pandemic, while others are completely different.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking just at age groups, workers aged 22 to 34 were decreasing from 2017 to 2020 as the large Millennial cohort aged 20 to 36 were turning age 23 to 39. Likewise, the 6.9% decrease in the 45 to 54 year old group from 2017 to 2020 reflects the youngest Boomers aging from 53 to 56 while the much smaller Generation X cohort moved into this group. From 2020 to 2023, the 7.5% decrease in workers aged 55 to 64 reflects aging Boomers turning age 59 to 77. The slowing growth of workers aged 65 years and over, from 17.9% to 5.7% growth over the two time periods, reflects the much lower workforce participation of people in their mid-70s (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;Table 1: Average Annual Employment by Age and Sex to First Quarter 2017, 2020, and 2023&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Age&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Year to First Quarter&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;2017-2020&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;Change in Jobs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2020-2023 Change in Jobs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2017&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2023&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;All&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;221,622&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;226,089&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;221,157&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4,468&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4,933&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;14-18 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,650&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,170&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,926&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+520&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,756&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+17.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;19-21 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12,101&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12,373&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,706&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+272&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-667&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;22-24 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12,620&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12,345&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,600&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-275&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-745&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;25-34 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;43,901&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;43,662&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41,192&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-239&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2,470&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;35-44 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;42,194&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;45,730&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46,376&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,536&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+647&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;45-54 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;44,465&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41,392&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;40,234&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3,073&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,158&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;55-64 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;42,373&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;43,535&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;40,270&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,162&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3,265&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;65 years +&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14,320&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16,884&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17,854&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,564&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+17.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+970&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;116,123&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;118,989&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;113,741&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,867&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5,249&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;14-18 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,348&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,541&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,618&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+193&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,077&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+19.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;19-21 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,471&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,565&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,109&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+93&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-456&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;22-24 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,408&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,238&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,739&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-170&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-500&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-8.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;25-34 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,884&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,028&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,279&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+144&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,749&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;35-44 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,604&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,840&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,513&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,236&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-327&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;45-54 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,955&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,347&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,162&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,608&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,185&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;55-64 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,282&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24,013&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,449&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+731&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2,564&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-10.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;65 years +&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,170&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,418&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,873&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,248&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+17.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+455&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;105,500&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;107,100&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;107,417&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,600&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;317&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;14-18 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,302&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,629&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,309&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+327&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+681&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+14.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;19-21 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,630&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,808&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,597&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+178&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-211&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;22-24 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,212&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,106&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,862&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-106&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-245&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;25-34 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,017&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,634&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,913&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-383&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-722&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;35-44 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,589&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,890&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,863&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,300&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+974&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;45-54 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,510&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,045&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,072&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,465&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+27&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;55-64 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,091&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,522&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,821&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+431&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-702&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;65 years +&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,149&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,466&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,981&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,316&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+18.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+516&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Economic Studies, LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This most definitely does not mean that the pandemic had little workforce impact. The overall workforce went from growth to decline. The big exception was the youngest workers, aged 14 to 18 years, which experienced drastically accelerated workforce growth. Higher wages for increasingly available entry-level jobs, combined with strong immune systems, brought increasing numbers of high schoolers and recent high school graduates into the workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Most notably, the overall decline from 2020 to 2023 was from females. Male workers in total had slight (0.3%) growth. We can get a clearer picture of the pandemic impacts by looking at the change in the percent of the workforce that is female by age (see Figure 1). Note that we don&apos;t need to show males because it is just the balance of the percentage. For example, 51.4% females in 2023 is 48.6% males. Note also that these data do not include self-employment, which is more common for males.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/012224_nw_figure1_tcm1045-607894.png&quot; title=&quot;Percent of Workforce that is Female by Age&quot; alt=&quot;Percent of Workforce that is Female by Age&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;012224_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The increasing share of females in the workforce from 2017 to 2020 reversed to a significant decline from 2020 to 2023. Within the 14 to 18 year old age group, the trend went from decreasing to increasing, and was slightly above the female share in 2017 by 2023. The 19 to 24 age groups reflect a continuation of the pre-pandemic declining trend, although the 22 to 24 year old group takes a sharper drop into 2023. To some extent, this reflects increases in female college enrollment relative to males.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, the pandemic-induced workforce decline is concentrated in the age 25 to 64 year age groups. Every age group went from an increasing share to a sharply declining share. These are the age groups most likely to be caring for kids, grandkids, and elderly parents. No doubt, many males left the workforce for caregiving as well, but the stark change in trend in the female shares of the workforce in these ages serve to isolate caregiving as the primary pandemic impact on the workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This analysis implies that the workforce growth is held back by caregiving demands, sharpening the focus on child care and elder care. This also points out the potential of employee recruitment and retention strategies focused on schedule flexibility.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>607902</id><pubdate>2024-01-26T17:21:39Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>As we approach the end of 2023, it is exciting to point out that this is the first year where Northwest Minnesota employment has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.</Description><Audience/><Title>2023 Marks Employment Recovery, But Most Pre-Pandemic Industry Trends Are Altered</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>2023 Marks Employment Recovery, But Most Pre-Pandemic Industry Trends Are Altered</Title><title>2023-12-15 QCEW ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-604479&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-12-19T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As we approach the end of 2023, it is exciting to point out that this is the first year where Northwest Minnesota employment has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As we approach the end of 2023, it is exciting to point out that this is the first year where Northwest Minnesota employment has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages (QCEW) program&lt;/a&gt;, job counts in the first quarter of 2023 exceeded first quarter 2020 employment (reflecting employment just before the pandemic) by 1,042 jobs, or 0.5%,. The recently released second quarter 2023 QCEW data further established this landmark with employment inching above second quarter 2019 by 426 jobs, or 0.2%. Statewide, employment was essentially tied with second quarter 2019, averaging just 37 fewer jobs in second quarter 2023, or just one thousandth of one percent lower (see Figure 1.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121523_nw_figure1_tcm1045-604480.png&quot; title=&quot;Total Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Total Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121523_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Prior to the pandemic, total employment steadily increased in the longest running economic expansion on record. Employment then quickly bottomed out in second quarter 2020, along with the end of the Pandemic Recession. The recovery quickly ensued, followed by steadily increasing employment from second quarter 2021 to 2023.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With the employment recovery complete, it once again becomes useful to look for industry employment trends. Before the pandemic, employment was steadily growing overall, but some industries were growing, some were flat, and some were declining. The Pandemic Recession overwhelmed these trends, and we can just now begin to look for signs if the previous industry trends are reasserting themselves or if different industry employment trends are emerging. Analyzing these industry employment trends is useful to know where employment opportunities are increasing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 displays industry employment for second quarter 2015, 2019, and 2023, as well as the changes leading up to the pandemic and the changes during the recovery. We see that from 2015 to 2019, eight of the 20 sectors had significantly above average growth: Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance, Manufacturing, Educational Services, Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services, Public Administration, Other Services, Agriculture, and Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services. Of these, only Manufacturing, Other Services, and Agriculture have clearly continued their growth trend, with above average growth from 2019 to 2023 (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: Northwest Minnesota Industry Employment, Second Quarter&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;NAICS Industry Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Jobs, Q2 2015&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Jobs, Q2 2019&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Jobs, Q2 2023&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Q2 2015 - Q2 2019 Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Q2 2019 - Q2 2023 Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jobs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jobs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;221,514&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;226,774&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;227,200&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5,260&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+426&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36,676&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;39,177&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;38,849&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,501&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-328&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,672&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,688&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30,285&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,016&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+597&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,225&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,177&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,374&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-48&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+197&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Educational Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,597&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,721&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,325&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,124&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-396&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,518&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,030&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,863&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,512&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-167&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Public Administration&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15,571&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16,606&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15,523&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,035&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,083&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,470&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,837&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13,257&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+367&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,420&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+11.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wholesale Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,717&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,386&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,758&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-331&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+372&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Other Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,560&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,830&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,033&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+270&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+203&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,369&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,996&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,933&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-373&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-63&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Finance &amp;amp; Insurance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,771&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,921&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,849&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+150&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-72&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Agriculture, Forestry, Fish &amp;amp; Hunting&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,877&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,190&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,339&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+313&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+149&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,411&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,814&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,615&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+403&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-199&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Admin. Support &amp;amp; Waste Mgmt. Svcs.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,211&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,223&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,070&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-988&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-19.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-153&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Arts, Entertainment, &amp;amp; Recreation&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,040&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,826&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,869&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,214&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-24.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+43&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Information&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,866&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,592&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,620&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-274&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-9.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+28&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Real Estate &amp;amp; Rental &amp;amp; Leasing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,467&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,511&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,556&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+44&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+45&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Utilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,326&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,292&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,280&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-34&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-12&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Management of Companies&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;884&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;712&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;560&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-172&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-19.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-152&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-23.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Mining&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;282&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;238&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;237&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-44&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-15.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-540088&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Generally, goods producing sectors were less affected by the pandemic than services.&lt;/a&gt; The Construction sector was even boosted by the pandemic, adding jobs in 2020 and hitting a peak in 2021. It took a breather in 2022 but increased again in 2023 and added the most jobs of any industry since 2019. Thus, Construction has far exceeded its pre-pandemic trend, which was only slightly above average employment growth. Construction also shored up Mining employment, as Mining mainly supplies construction with sand and gravel in the Northwest. Agriculture employment was largely unaffected by the pandemic, increasing statewide every year since 2019. Agriculture experienced a relatively small dip in Northwest in 2021, dropping 2.6% below 2019 levels, but in 2022 had advanced 2.1% above 2019. Manufacturing had also exceeded 2019 employment by 2022, handily overcoming a 9.6% dip from 2019 to 2020.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Of all the services providing sectors, Other Services had the fastest growth coming out of the recession. With employment exceeding 2019 levels in 2022 and adding even more jobs in 2023, it exactly matched it&apos;s 2015 to 2019 growth rate. In contrast, statewide it remains 2.9% below 2019. Wholesale Trade grew second fastest of the services, initiating a new growth trend after declining from 2015 to 2019. This is also what happened statewide with Wholesale Trade. It makes sense that it would trend up with Agriculture and Manufacturing. While Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing employment did not trend up with Wholesale Trade as it did statewide, the employment decline did moderate in the Northwest since the pandemic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance peaked in 2018 and has yet to reestablish a growth trend in Northwest, declining in 2022 and remaining below 2021 in 2023. Statewide, Health Care continued growing from 2018 to 2019, and in 2023 it exceeded 2019. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-551969&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities subsector has a larger share of employment in the Northwest, so challenges recruiting and retaining employees in this subsector is holding back employment.&lt;/a&gt; Thus, healthcare worker demand is intact, but is in large part unfilled. Like Health Care, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-601602&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;difficulty hiring and retaining workers is holding back Retail Trade employment&lt;/a&gt;. Retail Trade is characterized by stable employment since peaking in 2016.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Both Educational Services and Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services are on track to eventually regain their pre-pandemic employment. Employment has increased every year since 2020, but is still not fully back. In contrast, Public Administration is off track from its prior trend and is the furthest from 2019 job counts of any sector. That is unique to the region, as statewide, job counts are now slightly above 2019.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Finance &amp;amp; Insurance had nearly average growth prior to the pandemic, but has trended down since 2019. Statewide, Finance &amp;amp; Insurance also flipped from growth to decline since 2019. Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services diverges from statewide, which is 5.6% above 2019, and is also off track from the prior growth trend in the Northwest. It rebounded somewhat in 2021 but pulled back in 2022 and remains below pre-pandemic levels. This is notable, since the industry had the fastest growth from 2015 to 2019 of any Northwest sector. However, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-597652&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;both Finance &amp;amp; Insurance and Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services had some of the fastest wage growth since the pandemic, even while employment was declining.&lt;/a&gt; This implies that these industries are relying less on lower paid employees.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation has recovered from the pandemic, even growing slightly after trending down from its 2015 peak employment prior to the pandemic. Likewise for Information, which includes publishing (newspapers) and broadcasting, libraries, and telecommunications, it is up slightly compared to 2019 job counts. Real Estate &amp;amp; Rental &amp;amp; Leasing maintained its pre-pandemic employment trend, quickly exceeding the 2019 level in 2021. Statewide, all three of these industries have yet to regain 2019 employment levels.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employment declines for Utilities continued but moderated in the Northwest since the pandemic, whereas statewide utilities employment switched from decline to growth. Finally, Management of Companies (which includes corporate headquarters and holding companies) had the fastest employment decline both before and after the pandemic. In contrast, statewide employment had been growing in this sector from 2016 to 2019, and it reached a new high in 2023.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, only a few industries (Manufacturing, Other Services, and Agriculture) have reestablished their above average growth trends so far. Education and Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services are progressing back, as is Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance, but with unique challenges in the Residential &amp;amp; Nursing Care Facilities subsector. Construction and Wholesale Trade established new growth trends, and are leading prosperity in the region. As we approach 2024, the pandemic impacts on employment are fading and new trends are emerging.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>604479</id><pubdate>2023-12-19T14:56:52Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>As the holiday season approaches, shopping comes to mind for many people.</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota Retail Trade Employment Faces Seasonal Demand and a Multi-Year Workforce Challenge</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota Retail Trade Employment Faces Seasonal Demand and a Multi-Year Workforce Challenge</Title><title>2023-11-16 Retail ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-601602&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-11-27T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As the holiday season approaches, shopping comes to mind for many people.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the holiday season approaches, shopping comes to mind for many people. Minnesota&apos;s Retail Trade employment also follows the seasons. It increases from its seasonal low in the second quarter as spring gets people out to shop and hits its annual peak in the fourth quarter with winter holidays. However, Northwest Minnesota&apos;s seasonal fluctuation is more about summer than Santa, hitting a peak in third quarter and dropping into the fourth quarter. This seasonal pattern is displayed in Figure 1, apart from the Pandemic Recession in second quarter 2020.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/111623_NW_figure1_tcm1045-601604.png&quot; title=&quot;Retail Trade Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Retail Trade Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;111623_NW_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota retail employment peaks earlier than statewide as tourism drops off and seasonal residents migrate south. That drop in demand more than offsets holiday-inspired shopping. Not only is Northwest Minnesota&apos;s seasonal effect earlier, it is also more pronounced than statewide. Disregarding 2020, retail employment typically jumped between 3.5% and 4.5% from the first to second quarters in Northwest, compared to a 1% to 2% rise statewide. That 1% to 2% statewide expansion is essentially the same as the jump between the third and fourth quarters. While holiday hiring is important, summer is clearly more critical to Northwest retail employment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Figure 1 also shows Northwest Minnesota retail employment exceeded 2019 levels in 2022, comparing corresponding quarters, and is higher yet for the first and second quarters of 2023. In contrast, statewide retail employment is still slightly below 2019 levels. More specifically, Northwest retail employment is 0.7% higher in second quarter 2023 compared to second quarter 2019, while statewide retail employment is 3.1% lower.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Both in the Northwest and statewide, total employment for all industries peaked in 2019 while retail employment peaked in 2016. Annual average retail employment was down 1.7% from 2016 to 2019 statewide, and down 2.2% in the Northwest. By 2022, the Northwest was still 2.0% below 2016 job levels, while Minnesota was down 5.6%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A major factor for retail employment both before the pandemic and since is the challenge to hire and retain workers. This challenge is demonstrated by Retail Trade job vacancy rates. A job vacancy rate is the number of job openings relative to the number of filled jobs, and a higher job vacancy rate signals a greater need for workers. When at peak employment in 2016, the job vacancy rate for Retail Trade was 4.1% for Minnesota and 3.3% in the Northwest. As retail employment dropped, the job vacancy rate increased. In 2019 it was 7.5% statewide and 8.0% in the Northwest; then in 2022, it jumped to 10.2% for Minnesota and 19.2% for the Northwest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A lack of workers, not a lack of jobs, is holding back retail employment growth. Statewide there were 28,477 retail trade job vacancies, the second largest of any industry sector behind Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance. In the Northwest, Retail Trade had 5,269 job vacancies, the most of any industry and over a quarter of all job vacancies in the region. If many of these vacancies had been filled, we would see higher employment and lower job vacancy rates, more similar to 2016. Hopefully employment will hold through fourth quarter rather than its typical drop in Northwest Minnesota, so we can get our holiday shopping done.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>601602</id><pubdate>2023-11-27T21:47:27Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Wages for jobs in Northwest Minnesota have increased to entice workers to fill open positions, with median wage offers for job vacancies climbing 4.7% per year from 2019 to 2022.</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota Wages Increase in Response to the Tight Labor Market</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota Wages Increase in Response to the Tight Labor Market</Title><title>2023-10-13 Tight Labor Market ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-597652&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-10-27T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Wages for jobs in Northwest Minnesota have increased to entice workers to fill open positions, with median wage offers for job vacancies climbing 4.7% per year from 2019 to 2022.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Wages for jobs in Northwest Minnesota have increased to entice workers to fill open positions, with median wage offers for &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;job vacancies&lt;/a&gt; climbing 4.7% per year from 2019 to 2022. However, wages for filled positions have increased even more, with the median wage for all jobs increasing 6.1% per year from 2019 to 2022. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation was running at a 4.4% annual rate from 2019 to 2022. Thus, growth in wage offers is only slightly more than a cost-of-living increase, while growth in wages for employed workers is a more substantial increase in purchasing power.  Employers have increased wages to keep their current employees in a tight labor market.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The 6.1% annual increase in median wage statistic comes from DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qed/index.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Employment Demographics&lt;/a&gt; (QED) data. Figure 1 displays 2022 QED median wage comparison by industry sector and annual wage growth from 2019 to 2022.  The green horizontal line is CPI annual inflation of 4.4% over the three years from 2019 to 2022.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/101323_nw_figure1_tcm1045-597676.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota 2022 Median Wage by Industry and Wage Growth&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota 2022 Median Wage by Industry and Wage Growth&quot; style=&quot;width: 90%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;101323_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These data are unique in providing wage rate comparisons across industries and over time. QED median hourly wages are derived from administrative Unemployment Insurance (UI) records. Unlike survey-derived wage data, QED does not have sampling error interfere with comparisons of wage levels over time. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/a&gt; are also derived from UI records, providing employment and payrolls that tell us average paychecks. However, QCEW does not indicate if paychecks differ due to differences in hours worked or rates of pay. Thus, QED provides unique insights into hourly wage changes over time and by industry.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;One insight is that wage growth exceeded inflation overall and across all but three industries, except for Public Administration, Management of Companies, and Utilities. Additionally, the industry sectors are ordered by wage growth from left to right, and generally the lowest wage industries tended to have faster wage growth. Sectors with a lower median wage that exceeded average wage growth across all industries include Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation, Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services, Retail Trade, and Administrative &amp;amp; Waste Services. The Other Services sector had a lower median wage and matched the wage growth of All Industries. Of the industries that exhibited slower wage growth than the total of all industries, only Real Estate &amp;amp; Rental &amp;amp; Leasing and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing &amp;amp; Hunting had slower wage growth, and wage growth was only slightly slower at 5.9% and 5.6%, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Some higher wage service industries also had fast wage growth. Finance &amp;amp; Insurance had the fastest wage growth and the second highest median wage. Drilling down to the subsector level, this exceptional wage growth was driven by 11.5% annual wage growth in Credit Intermediation &amp;amp; Related Activity (mostly banks and credit unions). However, this subsector also had a 4.6% drop in employment from 2019 to 2022. A contact in the banking industry informs me that customers accelerated use of online banking apps during the pandemic, reducing the need for tellers which have lower wages compared to other banking occupations. Based on that anecdotal information,a lot of this apparent wage growth may be a decrease in lower-paid employment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services also had a higher median wage and fast wage growth, but employment decreased 4% over this time.  This could be another case where employment of lower wage workers declined, thereby increasing the industry&apos;s median wage. Finally, Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance had a slightly higher median wage than all industries and 7.6% annual wage growth. However, it is worth noting that the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities subsector had a $15.06 median wage and 8.5% average wage growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;QED data is indispensable for comparing median wages across industries and over time. It also provides the percentage of jobs, median wage, and median hours worked by age and sex. This blog does not demonstrate all the demographic analysis possibilities of these data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>597652</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:38Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Manufacturing is a primary driver of Northwest Minnesota’s economy and labor market.</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota’s Growing Manufacturing Industry Provides High Demand, High Pay Careers</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota’s Growing Manufacturing Industry Provides High Demand, High Pay Careers</Title><title>2023-09-13 Manufacturing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-592128&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-09-15T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Manufacturing is a primary driver of Northwest Minnesota’s economy and labor market.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturing is a primary driver of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s economy and labor market. What&apos;s more, manufacturing&apos;s strong growth in both employment and wages is generating well-paying career opportunities in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In terms of the number of jobs, Manufacturing is the second largest industry sector in Northwest Minnesota and statewide. Manufacturing accounts for 13.5% of Northwest jobs, a greater percentage than Minnesota&apos;s 11.3%. Manufacturing&apos;s impact is even more pronounced in terms of wages. Manufacturing pays out 16.7% of total Northwest payrolls for all industries. This is a significantly larger percentage than the statewide share of 12.5%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Demand for workers in the Manufacturing sector remains strong. Both jobs and wages have trended up over the past decade (Figure 1). Job growth took a slight breather in 2016, but resumed the upward trend through 2019. Like all industries, Manufacturing employment dropped substantially in the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Recession. However, jobs came back strong by 2022, even topping 2019 employment by 1.2%. In contrast, total employment for all industries remains 0.7% below 2019.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091323_nw_figure1_tcm1045-592136.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Employment and Wages&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Employment and Wages&quot; style=&quot;width: 95%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091323_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturing employment grew by 931 jobs from 2020 to 2021 (3.3%), and another 936 jobs from 2021 to 2022 (3.2%). This was the fastest annual job growth in manufacturing over the past decade. As impressive as this is, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; results suggest that Manufacturing could have added even more jobs if all vacancies were filled.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In second quarter 2021, there were 1,988 job vacancies in the Manufacturing industry, setting a record high. In 2022 there were 1,851 vacancies, which is the second highest number back to 2001 when the Job Vacancy Survey started. It is also notable that only 29% of the 2022 Manufacturing industry vacancies required one or more years of experience, compared to 39% of vacancies for all industries. Yet the median wage offer was $18.25 in Manufacturing, compared to $17.06 for all vacancies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Indeed, Manufacturing pays higher average wages: average annual wages were $61,360 compared to $47,892 for all industries in 2022. Average Manufacturing wages in Northwest Minnesota have also been growing faster than statewide. From 2019 to 2020, Northwest Manufacturing average wages grew at a 5.2% annual growth rate, compared to a 3.2% annual growth rate statewide. This wage growth in Northwest Minnesota is visually apparent from the sharply upsloping average wages in Figure 1. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/review/october-2022/inflation.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Prior analysis shows that this wage growth has outpaced inflation&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Since averages do not necessarily reflect individual situations, let&apos;s get more specific. What careers that are in high demand in Manufacturing would pay above the basic-needs cost of living in the Northwest?  &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Cost of Living tool&lt;/a&gt; estimates an annual cost of $49,320 for a three-person family with two partnered adults and one child. This is assuming one adult is working full-time and one part-time (but the tool allows one to select other variations). Note that &quot;basic&quot; means it includes nothing for savings, recreation, or any upgrade from the bare necessities. So, what kinds of Manufacturing jobs cover these basic costs entirely, leaving the second-earner&apos;s wages for savings, fun, and upgrades?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 displays several examples of careers in the Manufacturing industry from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand Tool&lt;/a&gt;. To narrow down the list, I only included those requiring a two-year degree or less education. However, the tool allows sorting and filtering, so use it to match your interests.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 1: Selected Northwest Minnesota Occupations in Demand Found in the Manufacturing Industry&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;SOC Code&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Job Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Median Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Education Requirements&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Training Requirements&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;17-3026&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Industrial Engineering Technologists &amp;amp; Technicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$53,775&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Associate&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Moderate term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;17-3023&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Electrical &amp;amp; Electronic Engineering Technologists &amp;amp; Technicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$65,561&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Associate&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Unavailable&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;49-9041&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Industrial Machinery Mechanics&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$64,774&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Postsecondary non-degree award&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Long term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;49-9043&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Maintenance Workers, Machinery&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$60,274&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High school diploma or equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Long term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;51-1011&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;First-Line Supervisors of Production &amp;amp; Operating Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$64,377&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High school diploma or equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Short term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;51-9061&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, &amp;amp; Weighers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$49,353&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High school diploma or equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Short term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;51-9162&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$57,790&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Postsecondary non-degree award&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Long term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;51-4034&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Lathe &amp;amp; Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, &amp;amp; Tenders, Metal &amp;amp; Plastic&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$50,345&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High school diploma or equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Short term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;51-9032&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Cutting &amp;amp; Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, &amp;amp; Tenders&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$51,342&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High school diploma or equivalent&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Short term on the job training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>592128</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:37Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>With August comes back-to-school planning, and so this should be the right time to examine college enrollment in Northwest Minnesota.</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Incredible Shrinking College Enrollments</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Incredible Shrinking College Enrollments</Title><title>2023-08-16 College ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-587902&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-08-22T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>With August comes back-to-school planning, and so this should be the right time to examine college enrollment in Northwest Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With August comes back-to-school planning, and so this should be the right time to examine college enrollment in Northwest Minnesota. The &lt;a href=&quot;https://sleds.mn.gov/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System (SLEDS)&lt;/a&gt; provides student data from pre-kindergarten through completion of postsecondary education and into the workforce. Like most areas throughout the nation, college enrollment in Northwest Minnesota is shrinking. (See Figure 1.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/081623_nw_figure1_tcm1045-587914.png&quot; title=&quot;Fall College Enrollment of Northwest Minnesota High School Graduates&quot; alt=&quot;Fall College Enrollment of Northwest Minnesota High School Graduates&quot; style=&quot;width: 80%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;081623_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The impact of COVID-19 is apparent from the sharp enrollment drop off in 2020 and 2021. The pandemic significantly disrupted higher education as remote learning was quickly expanded (often improvised) while the campus experience dissolved, and the tuition cost stayed the same. Enrollment of high school graduates (within two years of graduation) dropped a full seven percentage points from 2019 to 2021.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, enrollment had already started to tail off starting about 2015. The three-year-average percentage stayed constant from 2012 to 2014, and then dropped almost one percentage point each year through 2019. Rising tuition costs, concerns about student debt, and, a strong job market contributed to this trend.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;If this downward trend in enrollment continues solely due to graduates going to work, then this might be characterized as a necessity to fill the region&apos;s need for employees. To corroborate this, my &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/570200&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;previous analysis of workforce demographics&lt;/a&gt; (using &lt;a href=&quot;https://qwiexplorer.ces.census.gov/static/explore.html#x=0&amp;amp;g=0&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;QWI data&lt;/a&gt;) shows growth in jobs held by youth. However, jobs held by those aged 19 to 21 expanded by just 1%, while jobs held by those aged 14 to 18 expanded over 20%. This smaller increase in age 19 to 21 may simply reflect the fact that most college students already had jobs, albeit often part-time or intermittent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It is reasonable to expect that postsecondary enrollment of high school graduates would stabilize because there are many careers that students pursue that require higher education. There are also signs that the exceptionally tight labor market is starting to ease.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>587902</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:37Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>As detailed in the State of the State issue of Minnesota Economic Trends, in 2022 Northwest Minnesota was within just 1,671 jobs, or less than three-quarters of a percent from our pre-pandemic 2019 employment level.</Description><Audience/><Title>Workforce Diversity Has Supported Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Pandemic Recovery</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Workforce Diversity Has Supported Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Pandemic Recovery</Title><title>2023-07-13 Diversity ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-584962&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-07-19T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As detailed in the State of the State issue of Minnesota Economic Trends, in 2022 Northwest Minnesota was within just 1,671 jobs, or less than three-quarters of a percent from our pre-pandemic 2019 employment level.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As detailed in the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/june-2023/northwest.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;State of the State issue&lt;/a&gt; of &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Minnesota Economic Trends&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, in 2022 Northwest Minnesota was within just 1,671 jobs, or less than three-quarters of a percent from our pre-pandemic 2019 employment level. Concurrently, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2022 Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; showed a record 20,409 available jobs in the region. One takeaway from those two pieces of data: if all these vacant jobs were filled, Northwest&apos;s employment would far exceed pre-pandemic levels.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In my &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/570200&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;March blog&lt;/a&gt; headlined &quot;Youth and Seniors Entered Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce in the Pandemic Recovery; Caregivers Exited,&quot; I introduced data from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qwi/index.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI)&lt;/a&gt;, and analyzed Northwest&apos;s employment recovery by age and sex. I also asked readers to &quot;Stay tuned for a future blog examining the employment changes of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s racial and ethnic groups in the pandemic recovery.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These data show that Northwest&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/2022_Northwest_RP_tcm1045-133256.pdf#page=16&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;increasingly diverse workforce&lt;/a&gt; began to bolster employment in the pandemic recovery when a lack of employees was clearly the constraint. Table 1 shows the most recent employment available by race and ethnicity, which is the beginning of third quarter 2022, compared to the same quarter in 2019, prior to the pandemic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 1: Employment by Race and Ethnicity&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Northwest Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Beginning of 3rd Quarter Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2019&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;% Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;White Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;211,057&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;203,668&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7,389&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;American Indian or Alaska Native Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,883&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,103&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-780&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-11.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Asian Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,497&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,490&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Black or African American Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,587&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,726&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+139&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;135&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;144&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Two or More Race Groups&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,488&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,642&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+154&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hispanic or Latino&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,248&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,091&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+843&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;24,838&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;25,196&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+358&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total, All Races, All Ethnicities&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;235,895&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;228,864&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-7,031&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: Quarterly Workforce Indicators&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Though it is the most recent available, this data is a little outdated. Data from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/a&gt; program shows that we gained a lot of ground since July 2022. QWI shows that we began the third quarter down over 7,000 jobs from 2019. However, looking at more recent QCEW data, we were only down 2,538 jobs comparing the average employment for the entire third quarter 2022 to the same time in 2019. Employment recovery was robust in third quarter 2022, and continued in the fourth quarter as well.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While I am ravenous for more recent data, the trend in the race and ethnicity of jobholders in the region is clear. Whites and American Indians held fewer jobs, the number of jobs held by Asians held steady, and all other groups were up, especially for Hispanic or Latino workers. Furthermore, without BIPOC groups, employment would have been lower by 358 jobs, which is over 20% of 2022&apos;s remaining employment shortfall from the pandemic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It is encouraging that groups with &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/2022_Northwest_RP_tcm1045-133256.pdf#page=6&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;higher unemployment&lt;/a&gt; filled the needed jobs to fuel the region&apos;s recovery. According to the 2017-2021 U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS), Black workers had 8.9% unemployment and Hispanic or Latino workers had 10.9% unemployment compared to 4.4% for the labor force overall. If this trend toward more diversity in the workforce sticks, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/559316&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;demographics say it will&lt;/a&gt;, we can expect those unemployment rates to decrease as data from future years are incorporated into the ACS results. Ameliorating unemployment for groups that have historically had higher unemployment rates increases the prosperity and quality of life for the entire region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Notably, the group with the biggest employment decline was American Indians. This is driven by the disproportionate COVID-19 impact on casino gaming in our region. Initially, these operations were all closed due to the pandemic emergency. Even as they began to reopen, many of the big-name music and comedy entertainers that had been booked for events far in advance were not able to be rescheduled. This was drawn out due to uncertainty from emerging variants and waves of infection. Even now this event planning and promotion has a long way to go to catch up. The good news is that other industries have seen significant increases in jobs held by American Indians. First, I must explain some minutia of industry coding to get to that.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Casino gaming is not a specific industry in the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/naics/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)&lt;/a&gt;. Instead, it is placed in one of three NAICS industry sectors: Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation, Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services, or Public Administration. On the surface, this probably seems ridiculous, as one can easily see that gaming is entertainment and recreation. But if the casino adds a big hotel and restaurants, and those parts of the operation come to dominate the operation&apos;s employment, then it seems reasonable to place it in Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services. However, if the casino is managed directly by tribal government and its payroll remains the responsibility of tribal government, employment is counted as Public Administration.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;American Indian employment in the three industries that include casino gaming (Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation, Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services, and Public Administration) decreased by 1,479 jobs. Therefore, American Indian employment in all industries except these three increased by 699 jobs. The 1,479 jobs lost in the three gaming industries were counteracted by a 699 gain in other industries to yield the 780 job decline in total. That 699-job increase is over 10% of total American Indian employment in our region in 2019!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Clearly this trend is worth tracking. Once again, I request you stay tuned for a future blog or article. In the meantime, I invite any employers that want to get onto this trend to reach out to &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Whirlwind%20Soldier,%20James%20(DEED)%20%3cjames.whirlwindsoldier@state.mn.us%3e&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;James Whirlwind Soldier&lt;/a&gt; who is our region&apos;s talented &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/business/help/workforce-assistance/wf-strategy.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Workforce Strategy Consultant&lt;/a&gt;, and also check out the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.rwa-nw.org/inclusive-workforce-employer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Inclusive Workforce Employer&lt;/a&gt; (I-We) Program initiated by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.rmcep.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Rural Minnesota CEP&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.nwpic.net/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Northwest PIC&lt;/a&gt; through their Northwest Minnesota Regional Workforce Alliance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>584962</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:36Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>With the Governor’s proclamation on June 1 to Follow your Heart to a Caring Career, many of my dedicated colleagues are working diligently to raise awareness of the career opportunities in the Health Care &amp; Social Assistance sector.</Description><Audience/><Title>Healthcare in Northwest Minnesota Faces Workforce Challenges</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Healthcare in Northwest Minnesota Faces Workforce Challenges</Title><title>2023-06-15 Healthcare ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-580740&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-06-15T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>With the Governor’s proclamation on June 1 to Follow your Heart to a Caring Career, many of my dedicated colleagues are working diligently to raise awareness of the career opportunities in the Health Care &amp; Social Assistance sector.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn-careerforce-prod-files.s3.us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2023-06/follow-heart-caring-career-proclamation.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Governor&apos;s proclamation on June 1&lt;/a&gt; to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/CaringCareer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Follow your Heart to a Caring Career&lt;/a&gt;, many of my dedicated colleagues are working diligently to raise awareness of the career opportunities in the Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector. My focus in this blog is on the industry sector itself, and it&apos;s written for those potential industry, agency, and non-profit collaborators who, like me, have a deep passion for ensuring Minnesota&apos;s most vulnerable citizens are well cared for.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employment in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance remains below pre-pandemic levels in Northwest Minnesota and statewide. However, in the Twin Cities Metro and Southeast Minnesota, this sector&apos;s employment is higher, and the large number of jobs in both pulls up Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment statewide. With the exception of the Twin Cities and Southeast, every other region has a larger percentage decline in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance employment than the total for all industries, yet the statewide decline is much less: -0.9% compared to -2.0% (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;9&quot;&gt;Table 1: Change in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance and Total Employment by Planning Area&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Area&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Employment (Number of Jobs)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2018-2022 Health Care Jobs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Total, All Industries, Percent Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2018 Ann. Avg.&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2019 Ann. Avg.&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2020 Ann. Avg.&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2021 Ann. Avg.&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022 Ann. Avg.&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Numeric Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Central&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50,158&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;49,165&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;48,460&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;47,913&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;47,389&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2,769&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northeast&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34,459&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34,588&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33,094&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32,675&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32,249&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2,210&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northwest&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;39,362&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;39,185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;38,228&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;38,496&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;38,260&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,102&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Twin Cities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;275,363&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;278,947&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;270,271&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;277,062&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;278,895&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,532&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southeast&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65,247&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;66,258&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65,123&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;66,097&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65,463&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+216&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31,341&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31,569&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30,045&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,337&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,207&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2,134&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota (sum)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;495,930&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;499,712&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;485,221&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;491,580&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;491,463&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4,467&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;9&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This is a stark contrast in pandemic employment rebound: Greater Minnesota experienced faster recovery for all industries, yet slower recovery for Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance, while the Metro area experienced the opposite. Despite this contrast, rest assured that Health Care jobs are not being systematically relocated to the Twin Cities Metro while jobs in other sectors are being relocated to Greater Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The good news is that Northwest Minnesota is closer to pre-pandemic employment levels than any other region. However, while Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector employment is closer to 2018 levels in the Northwest than any Greater Minnesota region other than Southeast, it is still well below pre-pandemic levels. This is not due to a lack of job openings; job vacancies in the Health Care sector are &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/574599&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;up nearly 19% from 2021, and part-time vacancies are down 15%&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Greater Minnesota&apos;s older population underlies this apparent paradox of Health Care employment. Like all of Greater Minnesota, Northwest&apos;s older population demands a greater share of employment in the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care subsector: 28.4% in the Northwest compared to 20.8% statewide. This subsector&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/551969&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;employment remains extraordinarily less than its pre-pandemic level&lt;/a&gt;. Average employment in 2022 is down -12.2% in the region from 2018, whereas the other subsectors including Ambulatory Health Care, Hospitals, and Social Assistance are down -2.6%, down -3.1%, and up +16.1%, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While the demand for Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities drives the larger share of employment, it is not leading to a faster employment recovery. This is because the lack of workers, not a lack of available jobs, is causing the employment decline. The subsector&apos;s employment is countercyclical with the economy; that is, it increases when total employment declines and decreases when total employment goes up.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For example, the subsector&apos;s employment in Northwest Minnesota reached an initial high point of 11,219 jobs in fourth quarter 2001, at the economic low point of the 2001 recession. Then, it reached its all-time high (so far) of 12,483 jobs in third quarter 2009, just one quarter after the economic low point of the Great Recession. This suggest that bad economic times boost Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities staffing because vulnerable people need care regardless of the economic backdrop.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The implication is that in our current &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/september-2022/labor-force.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;tightest labor market of all time&lt;/a&gt;, this subsector is extremely challenged. Furthermore, increased hiring will not address the root cause &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2021/critical.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;because turnover is a significant issue for Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Unlike Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, and Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing, the key functions of Health Care are not as easily automated. The &quot;human touch&quot; is a key ingredient! This is exemplified by Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities, where direct care for tenants and residents, culinary, environmental services, maintenance, and regulatory compliance are all key functions that are not very amenable to automation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So, the solution for this industry, in my mind, is to make these jobs more desirable. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/551969&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Wages have been increased substantially&lt;/a&gt;, and unlike most jobs in the region, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/2022_Northwest_RP_tcm1045-133256.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;wages in Northwest Minnesota are comparable with statewide wages&lt;/a&gt; (see Table 10 on Page 10). These gaps are typically greatly influenced by the high wages in the Twin Cities, where real estate and other costs can be much higher. There is also growing evidence that flexibility is key to becoming an employer of choice. For example, this recent &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2023/why-is-there-a-labor-shortage-ask-workers&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis&lt;/a&gt; suggests that workers consider a wide range of factors when choosing a job.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Another interesting quote from a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.startribune.com/doctor-clinician-worker-shortage-starting-to-ease-in-minnesota-hospitals-after-pandemic-burnout/600282311/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;recent StarTribune article&lt;/a&gt; says &quot;It just feels like post-pandemic people have a different outlook on work and life,&quot; said Paula Montgomery, Gillette&apos;s executive vice president of administrative affairs. &quot;Whereas compensation may have previously been the most important component of a benefits package, I&apos;m not sure that&apos;s true anymore.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, my contacts in Health Care inform me that flexibility has decreased since pre-pandemic times, as workers are induced to work longer hours to provide the needed care when hiring goals fall short. And recall from above, part-time vacancies are down 15% according to Job Vacancy Survey results.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The employment decline in the Health Care sector since 2018 is due to a lack of workers, not a lack of jobs. In other words, there is no doubt that the industry could have returned to pre-pandemic employment if the vacant jobs were filled. The weak link is the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care subsector, and by &quot;weak link,&quot; I am not just referring to the outsized decline in employment. The Health Care system operates with each subsector playing a key part. A lack of staffing in Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care puts pressure on the other subsectors of Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance. For example, Hospitals cannot discharge patients that need rehabilitation care unless there is a nursing home that has the staff to take them.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Also, new healthcare workers often get their start in Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities and base their future decision to stay and/or advance in a healthcare field based on their first experiences. This could be a major contributor to the decline in nursing program spots offered in Minnesota (as presented by Dr. Jennifer Eccles, Senior System Director of Nursing Excellence, at the June 8 Healthcare Education Industry Partnership Council quarterly meeting). What&apos;s more, even with shrinking nursing programs, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.healthforceminnesota.org/educators_college/nursing-program-openings.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;many spots are unfilled&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A thriving Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care subsector is critical for the entire Health Care system, and like any system it is only as strong as its weakest link. I maintain that it is well past time for innovative strategies to make these jobs more desirable. There are good reasons for hope. The Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care industry has a very generous &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/dhs/partners-and-providers/policies-procedures/nursing-homes/index/mn-nursing-facility-employee-scholarship.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;scholarship program&lt;/a&gt; administered through the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Also, the student organization Minnesota HOSA, Future Health Professionals increased membership to 1,206 members in the 2022 to 2023 school year from 462 members in 2020-2021 pandemic emergency, and is now more than 20% higher than the 1,003 memberships in 2019-2020 achieved prior to the pandemic. Northwest Minnesota has a prime opportunity to increase the sparse number of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minnesotahosa.org/join_hosa.php&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;HOSA Chapters&lt;/a&gt; in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Caring Careers&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;June is the kick off for the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/CaringCareer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Follow Your Heart to a Caring Career campaign&lt;/a&gt;, including a &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn-careerforce-prod-files.s3.us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2023-06/follow-heart-caring-career-proclamation.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;proclamation from the Governor&lt;/a&gt; explaining the benefits of working in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance. DEED&apos;s Regional Analysts put together a series of blogs focused on Health Care employment and opportunities in all 6 planning regions:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/central/central-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/580737&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Central&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northeast/northeast-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/580739&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northeast&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/southeast/southeast-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/580741&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Southeast&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/southwest/southwest-blog.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Southwest&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/metro/metro-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/580738&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Twin Cities&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As detailed in previous articles, the Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance industry has been &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2021/critical.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;under stress since the pandemic&lt;/a&gt;, but remains a great long-term career opportunity as it is projected to be the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/march-2022/job-outlook.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;largest growing industry&lt;/a&gt; over the next decade. The goal of the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/CaringCareer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Caring Careers campaign&lt;/a&gt; is to help jobseekers find their fit in health care employment that makes a real difference in the lives of others. Jobseekers that are interested can begin an in-demand career path with great growth potential and no training beyond high school required to start in many positions. Employers even pay for initial training in many cases – and they may also pay for future training to help workers grow their career and earn more money. Many employers also welcome employees who are learning English.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>580740</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:36Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Recent news of layoffs at U.S. companies well-known for their computer technology include Amazon, Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), Microsoft, Alphabet (Google parent), Zoom Video, Dell, Spotify, and PayPal.</Description><Audience/><Title>Youth and Seniors Entered Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce in the Pandemic Recovery; Caregivers Exited</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Don&apos;t Overgeneralize Some High-Profile Layoffs, Tech Jobs Are in High Demand in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2023-05-10 Tech ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-577284&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-05-10T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Recent news of layoffs at U.S. companies well-known for their computer technology include Amazon, Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), Microsoft, Alphabet (Google parent), Zoom Video, Dell, Spotify, and PayPal.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Recent &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tech-layoffs-sector-google-recession-2023-02-07/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;news of layoffs&lt;/a&gt; at U.S. companies well-known for their computer technology include Amazon, Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), Microsoft, Alphabet (Google parent), Zoom Video, Dell, Spotify, and PayPal. News coverage of high-profile layoffs describe them as &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.computerworld.com/article/3685936/tech-layoffs-in-2023-a-timeline.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;a reset from massive hiring during the pandemic to support remote work, e-commerce, and at-home socializing and entertainment&lt;/a&gt;.  However, as these so-called &quot;tech companies&quot; cut costs, not all of the layoffs are computer jobs, also hitting sales and office occupations. Besides, computer occupations are found in all industry sectors, labor markets are still extremely tight, and tech workers remain in high demand nationwide and in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupational Employment &amp;amp; Wage Statistics&lt;/a&gt;, computer occupations account for roughly 1.1% of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s total employment. Table 1 lists the specific occupations that are recognized by the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand Tool&lt;/a&gt;. In addition to being occupations in demand in Northwest Minnesota currently, these also have many projected openings relative to the number currently employed. Furthermore, the median wages for all of these are above the median for all occupations of just over $45,000 in Northwest Minnesota, with much higher wages for those requiring a Bachelor&apos;s degree (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 1: Northwest Minnesota In-Demand Computer Occupations&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Occupation&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Estimated Current Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Median Annual Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Projected 2020-2030 Openings&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Education Requirements&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer User Support Specialists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;500&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$56,923/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;417&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Vocational training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Software Developers &amp;amp; Quality Assurance Analysts &amp;amp; Testers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;60&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$77,563/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;475&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Network Support Specialists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;400&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$71,089/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;177&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Associate&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Systems Analysts&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;180&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$84,509/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;330&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Network &amp;amp; Computer Systems Administrators&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;230&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$85,992/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;143&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Web Developers &amp;amp; Digital Interface Designers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$49,837/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;272&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Associate&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Database Administrators&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$80,101/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Database Architects&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$83,678/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Information Security Analysts&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;40&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$97,859/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Programmers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$92,124/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;90&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Network Architects&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$89,068/yr&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Source: DEED Occupations in Demand&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So, are the high-profile layoffs by tech companies an emerging trend that has yet to sweep across the country? There is no indication of that. The industry sector with the largest percentage of computer occupations is Professional, Scientific &amp;amp; Technical Services, with over 35% of U.S. computer occupations. U.S. employment in this sector grew 4.1% from April 2022 to April 2023, according to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ceseeb1a.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Current Employment Statistics&lt;/a&gt; from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet, many companies in this sector are less commonly known than the large consumer-focused companies that have made the widely reported layoffs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2 displays employment for Northwest Minnesota&apos;s top two computer technology detailed industries, as well as employment growth compared to Minnesota statewide. Minnesota employment has been growing in these specific industries, and the growth has been even faster in the Northwest. While there are a small number of jobs in these two industries in Northwest Minnesota, adding a combined 114 more jobs in just one year is a substantial percentage increase.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Table 2: Northwest Minnesota Computer Technology Specific Industry Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Industry (NAICS Code)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Percent Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Northwest&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;453&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;550&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+21.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+4.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services (5182)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;47&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+14.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+11.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The industry analysis in the table above highlights the industries with the largest share of computer occupations. However, there are small percentages of computer occupations employed in all of the largest Northwest industry sectors as well. An estimated 2.3% of Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector jobs statewide are computer occupations. Applying that to Northwest, that amounts to over 1,300 computer occupations in this sector, which is the Northwest&apos;s largest. For Manufacturing, which is Northwest&apos;s second largest sector, 9.5% of jobs are computer occupations.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Clearly the large industry sectors are a more substantial employer of computer occupations. This means that cost-cutting in any one specific industry is not going to stifle the overall demand for these occupations. This also means that there are a variety of opportunities for computer professionals, whether one wants to work in health care, manufacturing, finance, education, or public service, among other industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>577284</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:34Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Minnesota&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment &amp; Wages (QCEW) program provides a precise record of the employment changes during and since the Pandemic Recession.</Description><Audience/><Title>Youth and Seniors Entered Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce in the Pandemic Recovery; Caregivers Exited</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>The 2022 Job Vacancy Survey Shows the Evolution of the Tight Labor Market in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2023-04-12 Job Vacancy ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-574599&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-04-24T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>The recently released Job Vacancy Survey shows that Northwest Minnesota’s labor market remains extremely tight.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The recently released &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; shows that Northwest Minnesota&apos;s labor market remains extremely tight. The estimated 20,409 job vacancies reported by employers is a new all-time record for the region, going back to 2001 when Minnesota completed the first Job Vacancy Survey. This unprecedented hiring demand, combined with record low unemployment, reveals a labor market that is tighter than at any time since these statistics have been produced&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Figure 1 combines worker supply and demand statistics to show an estimated 2.5 vacancies per jobseeker. That means that even if every unemployed worker were an immediate fit for an available job, 60% of open positions would still be unfilled. Typically, Figure 1 has displayed jobseekers per vacancy, but the inverse ratio of job vacancies per jobseeker makes more sense since 2018. For example, it is more informative to say, &quot;in 2022 there were 2.5 job vacancies per job seeker&quot; rather than &quot;there were 0.4 jobseekers per job vacancy.&quot; Conversely, in 2013 it was more descriptive to say, &quot;there were 2 job seekers per job vacancy.&quot; This illustrates how much labor market conditions have tightened over the intervening years, particularly the past five years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/042123_NW_Figure1_tcm1045-574600.png&quot; title=&quot;Job Vacancies per Job Seeker&quot; alt=&quot;Job Vacancies per Job Seeker&quot; style=&quot;width: 90%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;042123_NW_Figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This latest Job Vacancy Survey captures labor demand two years past the trough of the pandemic recession in second quarter 2020. It is notable that Northwest Minnesota was the only region to hit a new high in job vacancies. Statewide and every other &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/assets/lmi/areamap/plan.shtml#plnw&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;planning region&lt;/a&gt; was down from the records set in 2021. However, job vacancies remain well above pre-pandemic levels statewide and in every region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 presents job vacancies by industry in Northwest Minnesota with some characteristics of these vacancies and a comparison to 2021 results. The largest number of vacancies are in Retail Trade, growing from an already large number a year ago as the pandemic recovery continues to surge in the Northwest. In contrast, Retail job vacancies were down nearly 25% from a year ago statewide.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;9&quot;&gt;Table 1: 2022 Job Vacancy Results with Comparison to 2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;NAICS Code&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;NAICS Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Job Vacancies&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Part Time&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Require Work Experience&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;% Change from 2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;%&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Change from 2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;%&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Change from 2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,409&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;39&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing &amp;amp; Hunting&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;148&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.9&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Mining&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;26.1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Utilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.7&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-13&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;349&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-59.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.6&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;79&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;31&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,851&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-6.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.5&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;42&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wholesale Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;480&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;43&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;44&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,269&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19.2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;48&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;713&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;144.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11.7&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;44&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-29&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;51&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Information&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;250&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;194.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.8&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-35&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;52&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Finance &amp;amp; Insurance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-67.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;94&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;53&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Real Estate &amp;amp; Rental &amp;amp; Leasing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;52&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;NA&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;NA&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;NA&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;148&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-16.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-34&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;73&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;40&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Management of Companies &amp;amp; Enterprises&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;131&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;87.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22.2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-16&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;48&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;56&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Administrative &amp;amp; Waste Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;399&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;146.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;58&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Educational Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,044&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;431.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13.7&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;44&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;62&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,646&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;35&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-15&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;43&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;71&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Arts, Entertainment, &amp;amp; Recreation&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;310&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-67.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-7&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,641&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-32.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.6&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;44&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-12&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;81&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Other Services, Ex. Public Admin&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;331&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-11.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-14&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;89&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;92&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Public Administration&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;493&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-8.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, with the large number and percentage of the region&apos;s jobs in Retail, the vacancy rate is not as high as Mining and Management of Companies. Job vacancy rates are a comparison of the number of vacancies relative to the number of filled positions, and very high rates can signify an exceptional need for workers. Part-time Retail vacancies rose to above average, and work experience is required for a very small and shrinking percentage of these positions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Also continuing a growth trend, Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance has the second highest number of job vacancies. Statewide, this industry has the highest number of vacancies, but declined slightly from 2021. Compared to 2021, the industry had fewer part-time vacancies in the Northwest, and more frequently require work experience and postsecondary education.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Educational Services had the fastest growth in vacancies from 2021 as restaffing at schools from pandemic disruptions got into full swing, consistent with a surge statewide. Vacancy rates increased to above average, part-time lessened to about average, and work experience was more often required.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services still had the fourth largest number of vacancies, despite hiring cooling down from the reopening demand a year ago. There was a very similar slide statewide. The related Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation industry had the largest slowdown from a year ago, and the vacancy rate dropped to near average. Both industries had similar changes statewide. Construction is the other industry where hiring slowed significantly both in the Northwest and statewide. Also, work experience requirements became more frequent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Northwest industries that increased vacancies while statewide hiring demand slowed include: Information, Administrative &amp;amp; Waste Services, Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing, and Management of Companies. These industries made the difference in pushing job vacancies to a new record in the Northwest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In contrast, Manufacturing vacancies declined in the Northwest while increasing statewide. Like Construction, Northwest Manufacturing had a pandemic-related boom that was destined to cool as spending on services resumed. Note that Northwest Manufacturing includes a concentration in Building Materials and also outdoor recreational products. Both statewide and Northwest manufacturers significantly increased the frequency of part-time openings, which could make these jobs appealing to more workers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, the latest Job Vacancy Survey results reflect the region&apos;s tightening labor market in 2022, as well as the shift from spending on goods to spending on services. However, the most useful results of this research are the vacancies and their characteristics by occupation. That is what feeds the extremely useful &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oid/Results_9Columns.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand Data Tool&lt;/a&gt; that informs educational and workforce development decisions of consumers, businesses, and education and workforce development services providers. Informed workforce decisions are critical to achieve greatest success for individuals and Minnesota as a whole.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>574599</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:34Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Minnesota&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment &amp; Wages (QCEW) program provides a precise record of the employment changes during and since the Pandemic Recession.</Description><Audience/><Title>Youth and Seniors Entered Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce in the Pandemic Recovery; Caregivers Exited</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Youth and Seniors Entered Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Workforce in the Pandemic Recovery; Caregivers Exited</Title><title>2023-03-14 GWI-Age ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-570200&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-03-20T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Minnesota&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment &amp; Wages (QCEW) program provides a precise record of the employment changes during and since the Pandemic Recession.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Minnesota&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/a&gt; (QCEW) program provides a precise record of the employment changes during and since the Pandemic Recession. Northwest Minnesota&apos;s employment dropped by -13,847 jobs or -6.4% from first quarter to second quarter 2020, compared to Minnesota&apos;s -10.3% employment drop. Compared to the same quarter the previous year, Northwest was down -25,231 jobs, an -11.1% decline; while the state was down -12.3%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Two years later in second quarter 2022, the Northwest region had regained 22,355 jobs, an 11.1% increase, while Minnesota experienced an 11.9% employment rebound. By third quarter 2022, which is the most recent QCEW data now available, the Northwest was back to 99.4% of its employment level in third quarter 2019, while Minnesota was at 98.7%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;I have no doubt that Minnesota and the Northwest region could have easily regained all the jobs had there been enough workers in the labor market to fill open positions, but there are workforce shortages in all areas of the state. So which groups have entered, returned, or exited Northwest&apos;s workforce?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Thanks to the U.S. Census Bureau&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://lehd.ces.census.gov/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics&lt;/a&gt; program in partnership with states including Minnesota we can answer this question. The &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qwi/index.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI)&lt;/a&gt; program links job counts from QCEW with basic demographic characteristics of the employees. Like QCEW, these data do not include self-employed or contract workers, nor railroad workers, because these jobs are not covered by state unemployment insurance. The data are available by quarter, currently up to second quarter 2022. Table 1 shows the change in regional employment by age and sex. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;9&quot;&gt;Table 1: Northwest Minnesota Employment (Number of Jobs Held)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;-&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Second Quarter 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Second Quarter 2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;% Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Age&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Female&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Male&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Female&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Male&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Male&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Male&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;14-18&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,449&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,634&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,745&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,422&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,296&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+788&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+29.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+21.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;19-21&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,600&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,961&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,658&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,013&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+58&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+52&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;22-24&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,732&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,557&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,561&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,511&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-171&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-46&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;25-34&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,549&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,042&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,811&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19,875&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-738&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-167&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;35-44&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,223&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,215&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,985&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,029&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-238&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+814&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;45-54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,200&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,056&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,672&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,479&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-528&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+423&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;55-64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,775&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,399&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,332&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,342&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,443&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-57&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;65-99&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,475&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,457&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,456&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,054&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+981&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+597&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+13.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;111,003&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;99,321&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;110,220&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;101,725&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-783&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,404&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Economic Studies, LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The differences are striking, particularly the drop for females aged 22 to 64 and the gain for the youngest and oldest workers. Employment by high school-aged youth surged, drawn in by ubiquitously available jobs and rapidly increasing wages for entry-level positions. Jobs held by female teenagers increased more than males, both in number and percent, and they also had greater covered employment to begin with. Employment of youth aged 19 to 21 also increased slightly and was more evenly balanced between the sexes. It also appears that the availability of jobs with higher wages and increased inflation induced many older workers to unretire. Those past the traditional retirement age of 65 had the second fastest growth in employment in the past two years, with females again increasing more than males.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, it is only youth and seniors where females outpace males in employment growth. Every other age group saw declines in female employment since 2020. The 22 to 34 and 55 to 64 year old age groups showed a small drop in male employment, and had the smallest drops of all age and sex cohorts as well. This is consistent with &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/september-2022/labor-force.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;state and national research&lt;/a&gt; that points to caregiving as one of the main drivers of decreased labor force participation, along with increased rates of retirement, decreased immigration, and health impacts of Long-COVID. The impact of caregiving in keeping Northwest Minnesota residents out of the workforce is evident in Table 1.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The second and third largest percentage drops are for females aged 22 to 34, which is the age range most likely to have infants and young children. Males in this age range also have the largest drops, likely also from child care demands. While QCEW shows employment in the Child Day Care industry increased by 52 jobs in Northwest Minnesota from second quarter 2019 to second quarter 2022, this does not include individuals who provide child care as their own business.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Anecdotally, my contacts knowledgeable about child care inform me that many small child care businesses ceased operations during the pandemic, and these owner-operated businesses are more prevalent in the Northwest. Statewide, child care employment dropped -4.5% from second quarter 2019 to second quarter 2022.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Finally, the largest percentage drop in jobs held was for females aged 55 to 64. While this may appear to be an impact from early retirement, it is remarkable that females had a 21 times greater percentage drop than males. This only makes sense considering that females in this age group are much more likely to be caring for a parent (and/or grandkids) than males. Adding to the challenges faced by people caring for aging relatives, QCEW shows employment in the Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care industry decreased by -1,459 jobs or -10.1% in Northwest Minnesota from second quarter 2019 to second quarter 2022, a higher percentage drop than the statewide -8.5% drop. The lack of available elder care may help explain the large drop in females in this age group in the labor force.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Stay tuned for a future blog examining the employment changes of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s racial and ethnic groups in the pandemic recovery.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>570200</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:34Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>As the economy recovers from the pandemic recession, the two biggest economic topics are the tight labor market and inflation.</Description><Audience/><Title>Are Northwest Minnesota Wages Keeping Up with Inflation?</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Are Northwest Minnesota Wages Keeping Up with Inflation?</Title><title>2023-02-08 Wages ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-565227&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-02-14T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As the economy recovers from the pandemic recession, the two biggest economic topics are the tight labor market and inflation.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the economy recovers from the pandemic recession, the two biggest economic topics are the tight labor market and inflation. While the tight labor market pulls wages up, inflation pulls down the purchasing power of those increased wages. Which is winning out, wage growth or inflation?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;My esteemed &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2022/post-pandemic.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;colleagues at DEED&lt;/a&gt; conclude that for the entire state of Minnesota, wage growth over the last three years is less than inflation. The statewide analysis is based on &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/current-employment-statistics/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Current Employment Statistics&lt;/a&gt; (CES) data. These data are survey-based and applicable for the U.S., states, and to a more limited extent, metropolitan statistical areas. The benefit to this analysis is that CES data is timely, with each month&apos;s data released in the middle of the following month.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;But for a longer-term look, we have &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages&lt;/a&gt; (QCEW) from unemployment insurance wage records that is available for all areas of Minnesota, and is not hampered by survey error. In my opinion, that is well worth the four to six month time lag. QCEW is less current, but is more accurate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to QCEW, average weekly wages (AWW) in Northwest Minnesota are keeping up with inflation. To visualize this, I shift the consumer price index (CPI) up on the vertical axis of Figure 1 to start at the same level as AWW for fourth quarter 2018, showing the growth of each on the same scale.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/020823_nw_figure1_tcm1045-565212.png&quot; title=&quot;Average Weekly Wages and Inflation&quot; alt=&quot;Average Weekly Wages and Inflation&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;020823_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Quarter-to quarter variation in AWW is striking, and peaks each fourth quarter reflecting year-end bonuses and profit sharing. To that end, this is not showing a rate of pay like an hourly wage, as was used in the CES analysis. Instead, AWW is the average weekly paychecks of workers for the quarter, calculated by dividing the total industry payroll by the number of workers and the number of weeks in the quarter. This comparison tells us how average worker pay compares to inflation without regard to hours worked. Perhaps workers are putting in more hours to get bigger paychecks rather than receiving wage increases; we don&apos;t know for sure from this data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Also visually apparent (perhaps due to the orange arrow and text) is the first quarter 2021 inflection point for inflation. From that point inflation advances at a steeper slope. Also note slowing inflation after second quarter 2022. The CPI peaked at 9.1% over-the-year in June 2022 and has steadily declined, ending 2022 at 6.5%. So, if wages have pulled harder than inflation through the last three months of 2022, they will be winning this tug-of-war.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With the quarter-to-quarter variation in AWW, it helps to see annual data. However, since the latest QCEW is third quarter, we can&apos;t use a calendar year. Hence, Table 1 has twelve months ending in September.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;9&quot;&gt;Table 1: Average Weekly Wages and Inflation&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;-&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;12 Months Ending September&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Over-the-Year Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;3-Year Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;-&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2019&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2019-2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2020-2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2021-2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2019-2022&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$798&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$841&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$910&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$951&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$1,137&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$1,197&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$1,275&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$1,345&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;CPI-U&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;254.38&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;258.01&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;266.62&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;287.72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;9&quot;&gt;Source: DEED QCEW and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bls.gov/cpi/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This shows that lumping all paychecks together and taking an average, wages in Northwest have grown more than inflation since before the pandemic. The fact that this differs from the statewide analysis with CES (cited above), suggests that workers in Northwest may be working more hours to afford higher prices. And in this tight labor market, businesses can use the extra help.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>565227</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:33Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>The defining feature of 2022’s labor market was record tightness</Description><Audience/><Title>Can Regaining Immigration Levels Resolve Northwest Minnesota’s Tight Labor Market?</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Can Regaining Immigration Levels Resolve Northwest Minnesota’s Tight Labor Market?</Title><title>2023-01-04 Immigration ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-559316&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2023-01-11T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>The defining feature of 2022’s labor market was record tightness</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The defining feature of 2022&apos;s labor market was record tightness. Northwest Minnesota saw two new record low unemployment rates set in 2022: dropping to 1.7% in October, edging out the 1.8% record set in May and tied in September. That in turn broke 2021&apos;s two previous low records: 2.1% reached in October after 2.4% set just the prior month in September. Before 2021, the record low was 2.7%, first set in October 1999. So, if the 2021 records were extraordinary, 2022&apos;s records were astonishing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With such a tight labor market, workforce and economic development partners are exploring ideas to help build the region&apos;s labor force back up again. Looking at population trends, what also may be astonishing is that reversing our region&apos;s international immigration declines would help get us most of the way back to pre-pandemic labor force trends. Net international immigration has been trending down since 2015, and it drastically dropped from 2020 to 2021 with the pandemic (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/010423_nw_figure1_tcm1045-559320.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Net International In-Migration by Year&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Net International In-Migration by Year&quot; style=&quot;width: 80%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;010423_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;At first glance, these immigration numbers – which hover between 100 and 600 people per year – seem entirely too small to impact our region, with a total of nearly 300,000 workers in the labor force. However, if we break down how our region&apos;s labor market got so tight, we can determine if reversing the immigration declines experienced since 2015 could have an appreciable impact.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Those who study our region&apos;s demographic and labor force trends have been talking about the tightening labor markets due to the aging population for over a decade. The supply of workers was set to decline as the Baby Boomers aged, and Northwest Minnesota&apos;s labor market has an outsized share of Boomers. According to generational definitions, Boomers were aged 56 to 74 in 2020, and about 26.3% of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s labor force was aged 55 to 74 in 2020, compared to 22.5% statewide and 21.5% for the entire U.S.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As a result, Northwest Minnesota&apos;s labor force was already projected to shrink by 5,850 workers, or -2%, from 2020 to 2030 based on population projections and 2019 labor force participation rates by age. Based on pre-pandemic trends, the region was expected to experience an average annual loss of 585 workers. Then in 2021 we saw a loss of over 8,390 workers due to changes and implications brought on by the pandemic. Combining these two estimates produces a roughly 7,800 worker pandemic-induced loss (the actual 8,390 loss minus the expected 585 loss.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;If over 5,000 workers of that 7,800 worker loss was due to early Boomer retirements, the declines would essentially be over. The projected labor force loss was front-loaded, and our region&apos;s labor force will hold steady through 2030 rather than decline. However, we see there are still a lot of Boomers working and the 55 to 74-year old age group in the labor force declined only an estimated 420 people between 2020 and 2021, based on U.S. Census American Community Survey data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Clearly the pandemic impacted the labor force beyond early retirements. Fortunately, many workers returned to the labor force, analogous to the supply chain issues being worked out. We already have an over 1,400 worker gain for 2022 (based on the average labor force for the first eleven months). Since we would expect to lose around 585 workers, we remain down an estimated 5,815 workers. This reflects the 7,800 loss minus the 1,400 gained in 2022, minus the 585 workers we would have expected to lose in 2022 without the pandemic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;By that calculation, we would now be short roughly 730 workers per year through 2030 (5,815 divided by 8 years until 2030). Again, we expected to lose 585 worker per year, so that leaves an estimated 142 per year pandemic deficit. That means we just need to add roughly 140 workers per year for the remaining eight years until 2030 to be back to pre-pandemic trend. Where do we get 140 additional workers per year?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The average annual net international in-migration in the region from 2015 to 2019, which is the timeframe of our pre-pandemic labor force projections, was 449 people.  However, immigration was consistently declining over that time, so the projections would include that downward trend. Let&apos;s conservatively assume the projections include 400 people per year from net in-migration. That is conservative because projections would incorporate a downward trend, not just 49 less than the average every year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So, if our region got back to 2015 immigration levels, it would provide an additional 180 people (580 in 2015 minus the 400 people we projected. Over 93% of our region&apos;s foreign-born population is age 15 or older, based on the American Community Survey. That being the case, the 180 additional immigrants would provide 167 people aged 15 or older. We also know from &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2017/immigrants-economy.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;previous research&lt;/a&gt; that foreign-born residents participate in the labor force at a 3.8% higher rate than native born.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, even if we apply the 63.4% labor force participation rate for the entire age 16 and older population in Northwest Minnesota, these 180 immigrants would add 106 workers per year. Even with conservative assumptions, getting back 2015 net immigration levels would resolve 75% of the pandemic-induced labor force decline (106 additional immigrant workers per year divided by the 140 needed to get back to pre-pandemic trend).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Anthony Schaffhauser at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>559316</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:32Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>New data for the second quarter of 2022 was recently released from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program which is the largest industry sector in the Northwest Minnesota region and statewide.</Description><Audience/><Title>Health Care &amp; Social Assistance Employment Trends are Driven by Subsector Changes</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Health Care &amp; Social Assistance Employment Trends are Driven by Subsector Changes</Title><title>2022-12-13 Healthcare ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-551969&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-12-14T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>New data for the second quarter of 2022 was released from the QCEW program which is the largest industry sector in the Northwest Minnesota region and statewide.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;New data for the second quarter of 2022 was recently released from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program, providing an opportunity for a fresh look at employment trends in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance, which is the largest industry sector in the Northwest Minnesota region and statewide. As of second quarter 2022, Northwest Minnesota total employment is within 3.9% of the second quarter 2019 pre-pandemic peak, while the Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector is still down 6.3%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Lagging growth in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance marks a stark divergence from the prior trend. In the three years before the pandemic, Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance grew 5.2% from second quarter 2016 to 2019, more than two-and-a-half times faster than the 1.9% growth in total employment. Looking at the change in employment by subsector, we see that growth was driven by the 8.8% job gain (+1,006 jobs) for Hospitals and the 11.7% job gain (+881 jobs) for Ambulatory Health Care Services, which includes offices of doctors, dentists, and other health practitioners (see Figure 1.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121322_nw_figure1_tcm1045-551970.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Subsector Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance Subsector Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 90%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121322_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the recession hit in second quarter 2020, employment across all industries dropped much more dramatically over the year (-11.1%) than in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance (-5.5%).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance, Hospitals lost the largest number of jobs, an 802 job decline, as procedures that could be deferred were postponed. Social Assistance had the largest percentage drop of -9.9%, while Ambulatory Health Care Services had an above average drop of -6.4%. Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care had the smallest decline of 196 jobs, or -1.6%, less than the 256 jobs lost from 2018 to 2019.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Coming out of the recession from second quarter 2020 to second quarter 2021, total employment sprung back 7% while Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance regained only 2.4%. However, the subsector changes varied widely, with a 1.9% gain for Hospitals, a 5.8% increase for Ambulatory Care Services, and a 9.3% job jump for Social Assistance, while Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities employment continued to decline in 2021, losing 316 jobs or -2.6%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The largest employment declines for Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities occurred between second quarter 2021 and 2022, with a decline of 1,086 jobs or -9.3% over the year. While this is the bulk of the 1,200 jobs lost in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance from second quarter 2021 to second quarter 2022, the 121 jobs lost in Ambulatory Health Care and the 134 jobs lost in Hospitals are worth noting as well, declining -1.5% and -1.1%, respectively. Nonetheless, these two subsectors remain well above the pandemic lows. Social Assistance employment increased by 141 jobs or 2.3%, putting it in line with pre-pandemic levels, albeit below the levels in 2015 through 2018.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This over-the-year drop in Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities employment is exceptionally large. This subsector has been facing an unprecedented struggle with recruitment and retention of nursing assistants that provide the direct resident, tenant, and client care. The largest effects on employment have been felt as the labor market recovered from the pandemic and so many competing job opportunities with increased pay became available. This is not isolated to Northwest Minnesota. Every region had significant drops in Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care, but Northwest had the largest percentage drop.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To address the need for workers, the state of Minnesota has been facilitating wage increases through &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/governor/news/index.jsp?id=1055-510000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;American Recovery and Protection Act&lt;/a&gt; funding and &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/governor/news/index.jsp?id=1055-515208&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;adjustments to Medicaid funding to facilities&lt;/a&gt;. Wages have increased substantially throughout the state, with average weekly wages at Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities in Northwest Minnesota increasing from $604 in first quarter 2021 to $760 in second quarter 2022. This 25.8% increase does not translate into an hourly rate of pay increase because the average number of hours worked has also been increasing substantially. We will have to await the release of &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qed/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Employment Demographics data&lt;/a&gt; for 2022 to learn how much hours worked and hourly wages have increased in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In the meantime, &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/ces/ResultDetails.aspx?ind=65623000&amp;amp;title=Nursing%20and%20Residential%20Care%20Facilities&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Current Employment Statistics&lt;/a&gt; provide a first look statewide. Hours worked in Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities started increasing after first quarter 2021, going from 29.3 hours per week to 30.6 in first quarter 2022, a 4.4% increase. Average hourly wages increased from $18.90 per hour to $21.60, also from first quarter 2021 to first quarter 2022, a 14.4% increase. The Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities subsector is making a substantial adaptation where fewer workers are working more hours while earning higher pay to provide the needed care.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;On the surface, it appears that the Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector is lagging the recovery of the overall labor market coming out of the pandemic. But at the subsector level, Social Assistance is back to pre-pandemic employment levels, and Ambulatory Health Care Services is within 2.5%. Employment at Hospitals is still down -5.7% from pre-pandemic levels, further than the -3.9% gap for the region&apos;s total employment, but less than the -6.3% gap for the Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance sector overall. Instead, this sector&apos;s employment is greatly influenced by drastic changes in Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities, which is adapting to provide care with fewer workers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony Schaffhauser&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6594.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>551969</id><pubdate>2024-11-13T19:49:15Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>In addition to the extraordinary value of each veteran&apos;s service to our nation, they continue to make significant contributions to Minnesota&apos;s economy and communities as well.</Description><Audience/><Title>Veterans in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Veterans in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2022-11-4 Veterans ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-546852&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-11-08T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>In addition to the extraordinary value of each veteran&apos;s service to our nation, they continue to make significant contributions to Minnesota&apos;s economy and communities as well.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to the extraordinary value of each veteran&apos;s service to our nation, they continue to make significant contributions to Minnesota&apos;s economy and communities as well. Northwest Minnesota is fortunate to have an above average share of veterans in our region.  According to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=veteran&amp;amp;g=0400000US27_0500000US27005,27007,27021,27027,27029,27035,27041,27051,27057,27069,27077,27087,27089,27097,27107,27111,27113,27119,27121,27125,27135,27149,27153,27155,27159,27167&amp;amp;tid=ACSST5Y2019.S2101&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2020 American Community Survey&lt;/a&gt;, Northwest Minnesota is home to an estimated 38,000 veterans, approaching 9% of the region&apos;s adult population, compared to 6.8% statewide. Cass and Hubbard Counties have over 11% veterans, among the highest of the 87 counties in the state, while Becker, Clearwater, and Crow Wing are all over 10% (see Table 1.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;Table 1:  Northwest Minnesota Veteran Population and Labor Force&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;County&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Civilian Population&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Age 18 and Over&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Age 18 to 64&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Total&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Veterans&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Veterans as a Percent of Total&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Veterans in the Labor Force&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Labor Force Participation Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Veterans&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Non-Veterans&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Becker&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25,899&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,725&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;909&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;81.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Beltrami&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34,988&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,865&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;980&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Cass&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,244&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,635&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;622&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Clay&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;48,200&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,854&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,189&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;82.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Clearwater&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,668&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;696&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;216&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;74.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Crow Wing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50,756&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,059&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,483&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;79.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Douglas&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,707&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,691&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;949&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Grant&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,591&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;404&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;78&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hubbard&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16,815&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,953&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;525&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;79.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Kittson&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,364&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;295&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;112&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;91.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Lake of the Woods&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,001&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;255&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Mahnomen&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,784&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;284&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Marshall&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,203&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;562&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;208&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;88.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;82.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Morrison&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25,197&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,409&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;798&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Norman&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,929&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;389&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;98&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;81.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Otter Tail&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;45,711&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,920&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,007&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;82.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pennington&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,832&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;814&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;289&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Polk&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,713&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,936&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;482&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;81.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pope&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,808&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;860&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;203&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Red Lake&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,024&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;265&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;93&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;81.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Roseau&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,576&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;884&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;386&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Stevens&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,691&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;299&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Todd&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,719&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,606&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;330&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Traverse&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,627&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;261&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;80.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wadena&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,160&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;780&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;163&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;79.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wilkin&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,899&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;305&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;92&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;436,106&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;38,006&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;11,314&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;78.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;81.4%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4,297,294&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;291,453&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;101,620&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;80.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;83.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: American Community Survey Five-year estimates, 2016-2020&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey provides estimates from five years of survey data of the number of veterans and non-veterans aged 18 to 64 in the labor force, that is, either working or actively seeking work. Similar to the state, veteran labor force participation in the Northwest region is slightly lower than for non-veterans. While many factors can contribute to this, the larger share of veterans with a disability is a foremost reason. An estimated 33.6% of Northwest Minnesota veterans aged 18 to 64 have a disability, compared to 14.5% of non-veterans. The labor force participation rate (LFPR, which is labor force as a share of the population) is significantly lower for the population of individuals with a disability.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest Minnesota, the LFPR of the population aged 20 to 64 with a disability is 50%, compared to 82% for the total Northwest Minnesota population aged 20 to 64. The fact that veterans have just 3.4 percentage points lower LFPR, 78.0% compared to 81.4% for non-veterans, while more than double the share with a disability is remarkable. Also, while the LFPR in Minnesota is higher for both veterans and non-veterans, it is also notable that an estimated 28.6% of veterans statewide have a disability compared to the 33.6% in the Northwest Region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Veterans return from service with a vast array of unique skills and experiences. They will continue to be an invaluable resource for local employers looking for quality, well trained candidates. The entire Northwest Region serves to benefit. If you are a veteran looking to transition to a civilian job, try &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.mynextmove.org/vets/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;O*NET&apos;s My Next Move For Veterans&lt;/a&gt; website. One tool on this site matches military classifications with similar civilian careers, allowing veterans to leverage their experience and skills gained while serving.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;More importantly, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has a team dedicated to serving Minnesotan veterans and their needs. Check out the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/dedicated-veterans-employment-team&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerForce Veterans Employment Services&lt;/a&gt; page to find your regional contact and how they might help you or a veteran you know. DEED also &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/veterans-employer-resources&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;assists employers hiring veterans&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It is an auspicious coincidence for Northwest Minnesota that November is both the month that features Veterans Day as well as being &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pbs.org/articles/30-stories-for-30-days-of-native-american-and-alaska-native-heritage-month&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Native American and Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month&lt;/a&gt; because 2.9% of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s veteran population is American Indian or Alaskan Native Alone, compared to 1% statewide.  This is the highest of any of &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/assets/lmi/areamap/plan.shtml#plne&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota&apos;s six Planning Regions&lt;/a&gt;. Also, 28.6% of Mahnomen County veterans and 14.4% of Beltrami County veterans are American Indian, the two highest shares in Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony Schaffhauser&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6594.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>546852</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:26Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Manufacturing Stands as an Economic Force in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>Manufacturing Stands as an Economic Force in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Manufacturing Stands as an Economic Force in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2022-9-14 Manufacturing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-541298&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-09-22T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Manufacturing provides 14.2% of all jobs in the Northwest Minnesota region and with higher average wages, accounts for 18.3% of total wages as of the first quarter of 2022.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturing provides 14.2% of all jobs in the Northwest Minnesota region and with higher average wages, accounts for 18.3% of total wages as of the first quarter of 2022. Much like other regions, Manufacturing is the second largest employing industry in the Northwest, behind Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance, but this is a significantly larger share than statewide Manufacturing employment and payroll concentrations at 11.5% and 12.3%, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Based on the regional strength, Manufacturing in Northwest Minnesota was not nearly as affected by the pandemic as services-providing industries (see Figure 1). As of first quarter 2022, Manufacturing employment was actually at a new record high level, nudging 0.3% above the prior high in 2019. In contrast, total employment across all industries remains 4% below its first quarter 2020 peak, prior to the pandemic recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturing led employment declines going into the pandemic, but declined only 2.9% from first quarter 2019 to 2021, compared to a 5% loss for all industries. Manufacturing is now also leading the recovery, gaining 3.3% from first quarter 2021 to 2022, compared to 1.1% growth across all industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091422_nw_figure1_tcm1045-541285.png&quot; title=&quot;First Quarter Manufacturing Employment and Total Employment in Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;First Quarter Manufacturing Employment and Total Employment in Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091422_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even prior to the pandemic, Manufacturing employment had outpaced growth in other industries in the region, increasing 12.6% from first quarter 2012 to 2019 versus 7.2% growth for all industries. So, while it is no surprise that the manufacture and purchase of goods were less affected by the pandemic than services, this is also a continuation for Manufacturing employment growth after the Great Recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Evolving from the Northwest&apos;s agricultural and natural resources roots, the top five Manufacturing subsectors in Northwest Minnesota are Food, Fabricated Metal Products, Machinery, Transportation Equipment, and Wood Product Manufacturing. Combined, these five subsectors make up nearly three-quarters (73.8%) of the region&apos;s Manufacturing employment. Figure 2 displays employment in all of Northwest&apos;s Manufacturing subsectors over the past decade from the first quarter 2012 to 2022, sorted from largest to smallest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While still substantial, employment in Wood Product and Transportation Equipment Manufacturing was essentially flat, while Machinery Manufacturing added the most jobs, increasing by over 1,000 jobs. Likewise, Food Manufacturing added 591 jobs, growing 10.8%. The subsector that added the third most jobs, Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing, gained 328 jobs, expanding 8.5%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, most of the Manufacturing subsectors saw growth. Beverage Manufacturing employment had the fastest growth, increasing nearly eight-fold. Electrical Equipment, Appliance &amp;amp; Component Manufacturing employment tripled, making it the second fastest growing, followed by Chemical Manufacturing with 89.5% growth. Miscellaneous Manufacturing ranked fourth fastest with 55.1% growth, adding 310 jobs, which was also fourth in terms of number of jobs added. Finally, Plastics &amp;amp; Rubber Products Manufacturing was fifth both in number of jobs gained (294) and rate of growth (39.6%).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091422_nw_figure2_tcm1045-541286.png&quot; title=&quot;Change in Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Subsector Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Change in Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Subsector Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091422_nw_figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Over the past decade, Manufacturing has been growing in the Northwest. The largest Manufacturing subsectors have maintained or grown employment, and some of the smaller subsectors have experienced substantial growth. Even more than the state, the region depends on the strength of the Manufacturing sector to provide jobs, high wages, and economic stability.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about Northwest Minnesota, contact Labor Market Analyst &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Anthony Schaffhauser&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6594.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Anthony Schaffhauser&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6594.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/industry/manufacturing&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Learn more about Manufacturing Month in Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>541298</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:32Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Northwest Minnesota Goods-Producing Industries Maintaining Employment, While Services Still Have Ground to Regain</Description><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota Goods-Producing Industries Maintaining Employment, While Services Still Have Ground to Regain</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota Goods-Producing Industries Maintaining Employment, While Services Still Have Ground to Regain</Title><title>2022-8-23 QCEW ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-540088&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-09-08T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>DEED&apos;s recent release of the first quarter 2022 QCEW provides our first look into how Northwest Minnesota is faring by industry two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s recent release of the first quarter 2022 &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/qcew-econ-highlights.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/a&gt; provides our first look into how Northwest Minnesota is faring by industry two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the region is still down compared to 2020, total employment gained ground compared to the first quarter of 2021, adding 2,172 jobs over the past year, or 1.1%. However, the yearly percentage change in employment differed over the past two years for goods-producing industries, which includes Natural Resources, Construction, and Manufacturing, versus services-producing industries, which were hit harder initially (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082322_nw_figure1_tcm1045-540090.png&quot; title=&quot;Total Employment and Yearly Percentage Employment Change for Goods-Producing and Services-Producing Industries&quot; alt=&quot;Total Employment and Yearly Percentage Employment Change for Goods-Producing and Services-Producing Industries&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082322_nw_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Faring well despite the pandemic recession, Natural Resources and Manufacturing both saw small employment declines from 2020 to 2021, falling -1.8% and -1.2% respectively. Construction employment grew 5.4% from 2019 to 2020, then surged an additional 27.6% into 2021, making it easily the fastest growing industry in the region. But with the large size of the manufacturing sector, it&apos;s decline largely offset Construction gains, leaving a 4.9% employment gain for goods-producing industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Severe job declines in Leisure &amp;amp; Hospitality, Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance, Educational Services, Public Administration, and Retail Trade dominated the services-providing domain during the pandemic recession in 2020. As we entered 2022, spending shifted back to services, and employment returned with it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;By the first quarter of 2022, total covered employment in Northwest is still 4% below pre-pandemic levels, even with the 2% growth in service-providing sectors from the first quarter of 2021. Wholesale Trade is the standout for job gains and percent growth, while Other Services (a catch-all that includes everything from automotive repair to hair salons to churches) also grew from pre-pandemic levels. Comparing statewide, Minnesota has a 1% job gain for Wholesale Trade, and a 6.1% decline in Other Services from first quarter 2019 to first quarter 2022. So, Wholesale Trade and Other Services bucked the trend in the Northwest (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082322_nw_table1_tcm1045-540089.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 90%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082322_nw_table1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;After years of solid growth, Construction lost 1,834 jobs or -15.7% over the 12 months ending in the first quarter of 2022. Even with this drop, Construction is still the largest job gainer from first quarter 2019 to first quarter 2022. Mining, which in Northwest mainly supplies Construction with sand and gravel, had the largest percentage employment gain at 19.8%. Manufacturing employment is slightly above pre-pandemic level, while Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing &amp;amp; Hunting is essentially unchanged.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It is not surprising that Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation and Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services were down significantly as of last winter. However, that employment decline in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance is roughly equal to the employment decline of these two sectors combined is not so expected. However, Health Care employment has not fully rebounded and the industry is facing some &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2021/critical.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;serious hiring and retention challenges&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Public Administration is the sector with the largest job losses. Nearly all these jobs were lost in local government, which shed 3,196 jobs (-25.3%) from first quarter 2019 to first quarter 2022. By comparison, in Minnesota this sector had a decline of -9.4%. From first quarter 2021 to first quarter 2022 there was only a slight rebound for Northwest Minnesota in local government of 111 jobs, or 1.2%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In summary, most services industries have lower employment since the pandemic, and a few still have a lot of ground to make up. However, goods producing industries have maintained or exceeded levels reached in 2019. More recent &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/laus/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Local Area Unemployment Statistics&lt;/a&gt; show that continued recovery is occurring, with an estimated 1.8% increase in Northwest Minnesota&apos;s employment from March through June 2022, which should be reflected in second quarter 2022 data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Anthony Schaffhauser&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6594.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>540088</id><pubdate>2024-08-08T16:02:27Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Record Job Vacancies Signal Northwest Minnesota’s Pandemic Recovery</Description><Audience/><Title>Record Job Vacancies Signal Northwest Minnesota’s Pandemic Recovery</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Record Job Vacancies Signal Northwest Minnesota’s Pandemic Recovery</Title><title>2022-7-25 Job Vacancies ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-535980&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-07-28T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As with Minnesota statewide, employers in Northwest posted the highest number of job vacancies in the fourth quarter of 2021 since the survey began in 2001.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As with Minnesota statewide, employers in Northwest posted the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;highest number of job vacancies&lt;/a&gt; in the fourth quarter of 2021 since the survey began in 2001. While one can expect that job openings will gradually grow along with population over 20 years, the path to the current job market is the opposite of &quot;gradual.&quot; Figure 1 displays the quick spike in job vacancies, towering over pre-pandemic levels.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Combined with the record low unemployment rate, Northwest Minnesota&apos;s labor market is now the tightest in recorded history with more than two job vacancies for every unemployed person. This situation is not unique to Northwest. Notably, the region&apos;s unemployed jobseekers per vacancy ratio is the same as statewide at 0.4.  However, the job vacancy rate (vacancies divided by filled jobs) is higher in the Northwest at 9% versus 8.2% statewide, suggesting a bit more pressure to fill open jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/072522_nw_figure1_tcm1045-535985.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancies and Unemployed&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancies and Unemployed&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;072522_nw_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;One way to get more work done is to post and fill full-time positions rather than part-time. In Northwest, the share of part-time vacancies dropped from 39% in fourth quarter 2020 to 34% in fourth quarter 2021. Statewide, part-time dropped from 32% to 30% in this timeframe. The Northwest consistently has a slightly higher share of part-time vacancies, but has followed the statewide trend with this reduction. Looking back to fourth quarter 2016, statewide part-time vacancies were 43% and Northwest were 45% part-time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Both the Northwest and statewide display a similar pattern of pandemic recovery shown by the industries with above average vacancy rates (see Table 1). Retail Trade and Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services require staffing to serve the returning shoppers, travelers, and diners. Other Services include the salons and drycleaners to help us look our best as we venture out, as well as automotive repair and maintenance for the transportation to do so. Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance includes clinic visits and other non-urgent care that had been postponed. The standout in Northwest is Finance &amp;amp; Insurance, which  had below average vacancies statewide.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Table 1.  Job Vacancies by Industry, Qtr. 4 2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Northwest MN&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;MN&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Industry&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Job Vacancies&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Job Vacancy Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Job Vacancy Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,861&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing &amp;amp; Hunting&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;243&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Utilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;221&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,594&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wholesale Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;219&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,236&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;365&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Information&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Finance &amp;amp; Insurance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;693&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Real Estate &amp;amp; Rental &amp;amp; Leasing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;101&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;135&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Management of Companies&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Educational Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;663&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,684&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Arts, Entertainment, &amp;amp; Recreation&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;208&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,941&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Other Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;711&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Public Administration&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;606&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;4&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source:  DEED Fourth Quarter 2021 Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The vacancies by occupation shed light on this difference. Personal financial advisors and insurance sales agents had a much higher vacancy rate in the Northwest as retirees seek services for retirement finance, including health insurance. This is consistent with the unprecedented tight labor market in the Northwest with its larger share of older workers. It also points to a salient feature of the Northwest&apos;s pandemic recovery:  great opportunities for labor force entrants, including youth, relocators to the region, and those that wish to return to work.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:anthony.schaffhauser@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Anthony Schaffhauser&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6594.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Anthony Schaffhauser</Author><id>535980</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:31Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>New Americans: International In-Migration in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>New Americans: International In-Migration in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>In with the Old, and In with the New</Title><title>2022-6-27 Projections ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-533229&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-07-07T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>In addition to surging levels of current demand, Northwest is also projected to see strong job growth over the next decade.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to surging levels of current demand, Minnesota&apos;s Northwest Region is also projected to see strong job growth over the next decade. This round of projections start with the recession-depressed job counts from 2020, and therefore some of the expected growth is actually remaining job recovery. However, even once the region gets back to pre-pandemic employment levels, we forecast additional growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This includes faster gains in the industries that were hardest hit, including Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation, Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services and Other Services, which typically are not among the fastest growing industries in our 10-year forecasts. To that end, Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance is again expected to be the largest growing and one of the fastest growing industries, potentially accounting for as much as one-third of total projected job gains through 2030.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Other industries that should see substantial growth in the region include Educational Services, Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, Construction, Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services, and Public Administration. In contrast, only five of the 20 main industries are projected to lose jobs over the decade, with the biggest decline predicted in Retail Trade as consumer behaviors continue to change. Though relatively small, Utilities is expected to see the fastest decline, cutting nearly 15% of employment from 2020 to 2030 (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Industry Employment Projections, 2020-2030&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;NAICS Code&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Industry&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Estimated Employment 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Projected Employment 2030&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent Change 2020-2030&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Numeric Change 2020-2030&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;250,722&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;263,441&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+12,719&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;62&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36,901&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41,390&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+12.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4,489&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Self-Employed &amp;amp; Unpaid Family Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,526&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,674&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+148&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27,999&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28,618&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+619&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;44&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;26,846&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25,467&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1,379&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Public Administration&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,824&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,240&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+416&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Educational Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22,015&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,101&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,086&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17,040&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20,515&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+20.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,475&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;42&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wholesale Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,829&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12,347&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+518&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,693&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,157&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+464&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;81&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Other Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,052&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,144&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+12.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,092&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;48&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,436&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,741&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+305&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;52&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Finance &amp;amp; Insurance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,053&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,227&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+174&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing &amp;amp; Hunting&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,574&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,505&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-69&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Professional &amp;amp; Technical Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,927&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,360&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+433&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Arts, Entertainment, &amp;amp; Recreation&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,406&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,303&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+26.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+897&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;56&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Administrative Support &amp;amp; Waste Mgmt. Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,889&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,139&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+250&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Information&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,276&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,229&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-47&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;53&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Real Estate &amp;amp; Rental &amp;amp; Leasing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,425&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,414&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-11&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Utilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,135&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;970&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-14.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-165&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Management of Companies&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;660&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;665&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Mining&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;216&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;235&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+19&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED 2020 to 2030 Employment Outlook&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to new job growth, there is also projected to be substantial demand for workers to fill jobs left open from labor force exits. These are jobs that currently exist but will become available as current workers retire, leave the labor force for other reasons, or change careers completely. For every occupational group, there are significantly more labor market exits and replacement openings than new jobs created, so the region will need to tap into every worker group available (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/nw-picture1_tcm1045-533230.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Occupational Projections&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Occupational Projections&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;nw-picture1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>533229</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:30Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>New Americans: International In-Migration in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>New Americans: International In-Migration in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>New Americans: International In-Migration in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2022-5-11 In-Migration ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-528258&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-05-17T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>While Northwest Minnesota has enjoyed steady population growth since 2010 due to significant domestic in-migration, it has lagged the rest of the state in international in-migration.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While Northwest Minnesota has enjoyed steady population growth since 2010 due to significant domestic in-migration, it has lagged the rest of the state in international in-migration. According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-kits/2021/acs-5-year.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau&lt;/a&gt;, more than 5,000 residents have moved into the region from other parts of the state and surrounding states over the past 11 years, while only about 2,000 have moved into the region from other countries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With just over 12,600 foreign-born residents, only 2.2% of the region&apos;s population are immigrants, compared to 8.2% statewide. The region saw a 19% increase in foreign-born population from 2010 to 2020, which was much slower than growth in the state, which increased 28% (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Table 1. Place of Birth for the Foreign Born Population, 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change from 2010-2020&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change from 2010-2020&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total, Foreign-born Population&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;12,603&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,007&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+18.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;470,687&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8.2%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+28.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Europe&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1,615&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;12.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-415&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-20.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;45,867&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Asia&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4,001&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;31.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+927&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+30.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;174,828&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;37.1%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+28.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Africa&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2,139&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;17.0%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,174&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+121.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;125,135&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;26.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+78.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Oceania&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;214&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-22&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-9.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1,846&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;0.4%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+15.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Americas&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4,634&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;36.8%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+343&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;123,011&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;26.1%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;em&gt;Americas: - Latin America&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;3,393&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;73.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+369&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+12.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;111,190&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;90.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;em&gt;Americas: - Northern America&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;1,241&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;26.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-26&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-2.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;11,821&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;9.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;8&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://data.census.gov/cedsci/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2016-2020 American Community Survey&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 shows the composition of the foreign-born population in Northwest Minnesota. Just over one-third of all immigrants in the region are from the Americas, with almost 75% of those from Latin America, but over one-quarter from Canada. About 4,000 immigrants are from Asia, and more specifically Southeastern Asia (such as Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam), after increasing nearly 50% from 2010. But the fastest in-migration into the region happened from Africa – which more than doubled since 2010 and now accounts for just over 2,100 people (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite statewide trends showing increased international in-migration, only 16 of the 26 counties in Northwest Minnesota saw an increase in foreign-born residents over the last 10 years, and 18 counties in the region had less than 2.0% of their population foreign-born.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Stevens County, which is home to Morris and the University of Minnesota campus there, had the highest percent of foreign-born residents, the third fastest growing, and the fourth largest increase in immigrants from 2010 to 2020, but immigrants still account for just 6.2% of the county&apos;s total population. Clay County, which is part of the Fargo-Moorhead metro area, easily had the largest number of foreign-born residents with nearly 3,000 in 2020. That was double the next highest number in Otter Tail County, and while Clay County added more than 1,000 additional immigrants from 2010 to 2020, Otter Tail County added just two new foreign-born residents (see Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Table 2. Foreign-born Population, 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2020 Pop. Estimate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;2010-2020 Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Stevens County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;601&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+277&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+85.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Clay County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,956&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,064&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+56.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Roseau County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;642&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+292&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+83.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Polk County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,140&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+421&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+58.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Todd County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;788&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-51&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Kittson County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;105&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-36&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-25.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Otter Tail County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,529&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pennington County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;319&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+62&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+24.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Beltrami County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;792&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-348&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-30.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wadena County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;244&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+110&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+82.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Marshall County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;140&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-67&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-32.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Norman County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;99&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+11.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pope County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;165&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+101&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+157.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Traverse County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-29&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-36.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hubbard County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;302&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+57&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+23.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Morrison County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;442&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+103&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+30.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Becker County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;423&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+15&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Crow Wing County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;815&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+145&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+21.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Clearwater County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;96&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-45&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-31.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Douglas County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;435&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+53&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+13.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wilkin County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+34&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+89.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Cass County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;314&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+12&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Grant County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-44&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-44.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Mahnomen County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-15&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-29.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Red Lake County&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-31&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-55.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Lake of the Woods Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-85&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-83.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Though the number of foreign-born residents in Northwest Minnesota is still small, the fastest increases in international in-migration occurred in Pope, Wilkin, Wadena and Roseau counties, which all expanded 80% or more from 2010 to 2020. However, all four of those counties also have relatively small numbers of immigrants, with the first three all having less than 250 foreign-born residents, and Roseau having about 650 immigrants.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Finally, ten counties in the region actually saw a decline in the number of foreign-born residents over the past 10 years, with Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Todd, Clearwater, Grant, Kittson, and Traverse all losing between 25 and 100 immigrants. Beltrami County saw the largest decline, losing almost 350 foreign-born residents between 2010 and 2020.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In general, the smallest counties in the region tended to have the smallest foreign-born populations, with Pope, Marshall, and Kittson all having between 100 and 200 immigrants; and Norman, Clearwater, Wilkin, Grant, Traverse, Mahnomen, Red Lake, and Lake of the Woods all having less than 100 foreign-born residents (see Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>528258</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:29Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Women in the Workforce in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>Women in the Workforce in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Demand for IT Workers in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2022-4-6 Demand ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-525016&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-04-13T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Even before the pandemic recession, many Information Technology (IT) jobs were in high demand and were expected to be among the fastest growing into the future.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even before the pandemic recession, many Information Technology (IT) jobs were in high demand and were expected to be among the fastest growing into the future. But the rise in telework brought on by COVID-19 has made IT workers even more important, with rising numbers of job vacancies and above average projected growth rates, not to mention high wages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Sometimes confused for an industry, the Information Technology (IT) field is actually better classified as a set of occupations, specifically Computer &amp;amp; Mathematical occupations. While focused more heavily in certain sectors, IT employment is actually spread across every industry, since every industry utilizes some amount of IT. There were about 2,250 IT workers in Northwest Minnesota in 2020, with most having median wages that were well above the total of all occupations (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Information Technology Employment &amp;amp; Wages, 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;SOC Code&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Occupational Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Estimated Regional Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Median Hourly Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Estimated Statewide Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;bottom&quot;&gt;Median Hourly Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;000000&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total, All Occupations&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;207,970&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;$19.24&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2,708,760&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;$23.00&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;113021&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer &amp;amp; Information Systems Managers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;180&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$54.47&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10,750&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$71.33&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;150000&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Computer &amp;amp; Mathematical Occupations&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2,050&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;$33.28&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;98,240&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;$44.89&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151211&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Systems Analysts&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;320&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$35.71&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,390&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$47.26&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151212&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Information Security Analysts&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$40.38&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,450&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$49.22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151231&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Network Support Specialists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;240&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$29.63&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,180&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$32.36&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151232&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer User Support Specialists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;470&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$23.92&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12,200&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$27.34&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151241&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Network Architects&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$48.41&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,620&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$59.57&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151244&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Network &amp;amp; Computer Systems Administrators&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;220&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$35.78&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,300&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$42.56&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151245&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Database Administrators &amp;amp; Architects&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;90&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$45.72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,830&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$52.06&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151251&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Programmers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;90&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$42.37&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,330&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$44.36&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151256&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Software Developers &amp;amp; Software Analysts&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;380&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$42.38&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32,430&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$51.99&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151257&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Web Developers &amp;amp; Digital Interface Designers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$29.88&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,720&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$37.85&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;151299&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Occupations, All Other&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;90&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$36.22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,330&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$43.18&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;152041&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Statisticians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$31.88&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;870&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$40.83&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Occupational Employment &amp;amp; Wage Statistics&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As employers in the region offered more employees the ability to telework during the pandemic, demand for IT workers skyrocketed. In the second quarter of 2020, there were 160 job vacancies for Computer occupations in Northwest Minnesota, which was five times more than in the second quarter of 2019, prior to the pandemic. In the second quarter of 2021, the region still had nearly 150 openings for IT workers (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/040622_nw_figure1_tcm1045-525017.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancy Results for Computer and Mathematical Occupations&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancy Results for Computer and Mathematical Occupations&quot; style=&quot;width: 80%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;040622_nw_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to short-term demand, according to DEED&apos;s Employment Outlook, Computer occupations were expected to grow more than twice as fast as the total of all occupations over the next decade. In comparison to a 3.2% projected growth rate overall, the number of IT workers was expected to expand by 8.7%, which may increase in the aftermath of the pandemic recession. As more employers rely on remote work, job openings for IT workers will likely continue to increase.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>525016</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:29Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Women in the Workforce in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>Women in the Workforce in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Women in the Workforce in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2022-3-11 Women ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-521272&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-03-11T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Prior to the pandemic, there were more than 136,000 female workers in the labor force in Northwest Minnesota, accounting for over 47% of the total workforce in the region.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Prior to the pandemic, there were more than 136,000 female workers in the labor force in Northwest Minnesota, accounting for over 47% of the total workforce in the region. Interestingly, the population of males and females aged 16 years and over was nearly identical, but the male labor force participation rate checked in at 67.6% compared to 60.7% for females, leading to about 15,000 more male workers than female.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The cause of the discrepancy between male and female labor force participation is likely due in large part to women taking on more child raising responsibilities, as demonstrated by rates for different age groups.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For example, teenage females were more likely to be participating in the labor force than males from 16 to 19 years of age, and the rates were just 0.8% different for 20 to 24 year olds. In these youngest age groups, both females and males account for about 22,000 workers in the region.
&lt;br /&gt;
But for people in their prime working years from 25 to 54 – which are also the prime childbearing and rearing years – participation rates are about 7.0% lower for females than males. Rates stay lower for females from 55 to 74 years as well. And perhaps the biggest difference is in the oldest age group – with females outnumbering males by nearly 7,000 people, but with a labor force participation rate that was half as high as for males (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Employment Characteristics&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;By Gender, 2019&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Total Population&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;In Labor Force&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Labor Force Participation Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Labor Force Participation Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Male, 16 years &amp;amp; over&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;224,072&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;151,579&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;67.6%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;73.5%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  16 to 19 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14,694&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,499&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  20 to 24 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17,506&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14,592&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  25 to 44 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63,997&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;58,509&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;91.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;92.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  45 to 54 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33,386&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,929&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;89.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;90.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  55 to 64 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41,384&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30,318&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;73.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  65 to 74 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31,281&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,864&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  75 years &amp;amp; over&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,824&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,868&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Female, 16 years &amp;amp; over&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;224,435&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;136,226&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;60.7%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;65.9%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  16 to 19 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13,486&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,737&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;57.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;56.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  20 to 24 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17,014&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14,061&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;82.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  25 to 44 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;60,608&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51,265&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;85.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  45 to 54 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32,616&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;26,776&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;82.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  55 to 64 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41,244&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27,689&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  65 to 74 years&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30,877&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7,455&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;  75 years &amp;amp; over&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;28,590&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1,243&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;4.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;4.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml?refresh=t&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: 2015-2019 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even though their labor force participation rates were lower than for males, the number of female workers had been increasing over time as the region&apos;s population continued to increase. While we do not have details at the regional level yet, U.S. and statewide data show that labor force participation rates for both males and females have fallen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but most notably for women. Nationally, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300002&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;female labor force participation rate&lt;/a&gt; dropped from 57.9% in February of 2020 to a low of 54.6% in April of 2020, before climbing back to 56.6% in February of 2022 (see Figure 1). For males, &lt;a href=&quot;https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300001&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;it started at 69.3% but has bounced back to 68.3%&lt;/a&gt;, down just -1.0% from pre-pandemic levels.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Figure 1. U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate - Females, 2019-2022&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/030722_nw_figure1_tcm1045-521280.png&quot; title=&quot;U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate - Women 2019-2022&quot; alt=&quot;U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate - Women 2019-2022&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;030722_nw_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;At the state level, our &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/alternative-unemployment.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;alternative measures of unemployment&lt;/a&gt; show a 12-month rolling average of 63.6% female labor force participation in December of 2021, compared to 66.2% in February of 2020, prior to the impact of the pandemic. Rates also dropped for males in Minnesota, from 73.9% in February 2020 to 71.8% in December of 2021. In both cases, the decline was more severe for females than for males.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;If female labor force participation rates declined the same amount in Northwest Minnesota as the state overall, that would equal the loss of 5,829 female workers in 2021 compared to 2019. That is a significant loss of workers for a region that was already struggling with a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39NTACEiyAE&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;tight labor force against rising job vacancies&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The reasons for the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/june-2021/simple.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;workforce challenges&lt;/a&gt; are varied, but include difficulties with child care, elder care, and other family responsibilities; &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/june-2021/nw-minnesota.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;more layoffs and a slower initial recovery from pandemic-related losses in industries&lt;/a&gt; that have more female workers – such as Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance, Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services, Other Services, Educational Services, and Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation – and &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/september-2021/retirement.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;faster than expected retirements&lt;/a&gt; among the older population.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>521272</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:28Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>So Close, Yet So Far Away</Description><Audience/><Title>So Close, Yet So Far Away</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>So Close, Yet So Far Away</Title><title>2022-2-9 QCEW ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-518639&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2022-02-14T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Northwest Minnesota added nearly 10,000 jobs through the third quarter of 2021 in comparison to the third quarter of 2020, bringing it back to 98.6% of pre-pandemic employment levels.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota added nearly 10,000 jobs through the third quarter of 2021 in comparison to the third quarter of 2020, bringing it back to 98.6% of pre-pandemic employment levels. That was the strongest over-the-year job recovery of the six planning regions in the state, and as of the third quarter of 2021, Northwest is the closest to regaining all the jobs lost at the outset of the pandemic. However, the region is still about 3,300 jobs below its employment level from the third quarter of 2019, when it peaked with 227,590 jobs (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/020922_nw_Figure1_tcm1045-518593.png&quot; title=&quot;Quarter 3 2021 Employment Levels as a Percent of Quarter 3 2019 Employment Levels&quot; alt=&quot;Quarter 3 2021 Employment Levels as a Percent of Quarter 3 2019 Employment Levels&quot; style=&quot;width: 75%&quot; xlink:title=&quot;020922_nw_Figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Fourteen of the 20 main industry sectors in Northwest Minnesota added jobs over the past year, led by huge gains in Construction (+2,899 jobs), Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services (+2,774 jobs), Manufacturing (+1,300 jobs), Educational Services (+962 jobs), and Wholesale Trade (+669 jobs). In contrast, the biggest loss was suffered in Public Administration, which cut nearly 750 jobs over the year. The other five declining industries all lost less than 100 jobs over the year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The fastest growth in the region was seen in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/493343&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Construction&lt;/a&gt;, which built up payrolls by more than 21% over the year. With more than 16,400 jobs, that is the largest number of Construction jobs ever held in Northwest Minnesota and was up by more than 3,100 jobs compared to the third quarter of 2019.  Three other industries – Wholesale Trade (104.3%), Administrative Support &amp;amp; Waste Management Services (102.9%), and Real Estate, Rental &amp;amp; Leasing (101.3%) have also set new employment peaks in the region despite coming out of the pandemic recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The region also experienced rapid recovery in the industries that were hardest hit at the outset of the pandemic – &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/495882&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation&lt;/a&gt; (+17.6%), Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services (+13.2%), and Other Services all jumped 9.0% or more over the past year. Demand for temporary workers also returned in the region, with Administrative Support &amp;amp; Waste Management Services, industry home to temporary staffing agencies,  adding more than 400 jobs since 2020, a 9.9% increase (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Industry Employment Statistics&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Qtr. 3 2021&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Q3 2020-Q3 2021&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent of 3rd Qtr. 2019 Emp.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;NAICS Code&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;NAICS Industry Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Firms&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17,529&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;224,302&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9,818&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;98.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing &amp;amp; Hunting&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;899&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,484&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-90&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;97.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Mining&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;43&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;268&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-14&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;91.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,308&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16,431&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,899&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+21.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;123.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;31&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;812&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29,418&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,300&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;98.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Utilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;67&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,254&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-14&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;96.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;42&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wholesale Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;610&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,669&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+669&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;104.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;44&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,306&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;27,624&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+109&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;97.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;48&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;876&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,847&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+26&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;99.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;51&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Information&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;269&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,573&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+106&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;98.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;52&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Finance &amp;amp; Insurance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;850&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,866&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-41&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;98.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;53&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Real Estate &amp;amp; Rental &amp;amp; Leasing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;460&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,563&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+27&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;101.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Professional, Scientific &amp;amp; Technical Svcs.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;850&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,655&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+53&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;98.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Management of Companies&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;56&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;585&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-85&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-12.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;83.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;56&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Admin. Support &amp;amp; Waste Mgmt. Svcs.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;690&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,547&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+410&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;102.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Educational Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;399&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17,976&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+962&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;95.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;62&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,804&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;38,455&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+315&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;98.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;71&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Arts, Entertainment, &amp;amp; Recreation&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;401&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,039&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+604&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+17.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;94.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,544&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23,720&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,774&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+13.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;92.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;81&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Other Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,562&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,723&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+553&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;97.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;92&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Public Administration&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;723&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15,598&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-746&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;91.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Rising demand has created difficulties for employers to find new workers. Every industry was trying to hire – with more than 17,750 openings detailed in the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2021 Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt;. At that level, Northwest Minnesota reported the highest number of vacancies on record – up more than 3,500 from the previous high. This included nearly 4,000 vacancies in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/511924&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/a&gt;, almost 3,900 openings in Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services, more than 3,000 postings in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/513816&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/a&gt;, and about 2,000 job vacancies in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/500658&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>518639</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:27Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Health Care Demand is Off the Charts in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>Health Care Demand is Off the Charts in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Health Care Demand is Off the Charts in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2021-12-27 Healthcare ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-513816&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-12-27T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As the pandemic stretches on, demand for health care workers is off the charts in Northwest Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the pandemic stretches on, demand for health care workers is off the charts in Northwest Minnesota. In sum, there were nearly &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;3,300 job vacancies&lt;/a&gt; for Healthcare Practitioners &amp;amp; Technical and Healthcare Support workers in the second quarter of 2021. That was a 65% increase compared to the second quarter of 2019, just prior to the pandemic. After hovering between 1,100 and 1,400 vacancies each year from 2014 to 2018, hiring demand has spiked in the past three years as health care employers have struggled to find enough workers to fill the growing number of positions available in the region (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/122021_nw_figure1_tcm1045-513843.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Health Care Second Quarter Job Vacancies&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Health Care Second Quarter Job Vacancies&quot; style=&quot;width: 60%;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xlink:title=&quot;122021_nw_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;Just over 50% of the job openings in Health Care and Social Assistance were part-time, which was one of the highest rates of any industry in the region. In fact, only Leisure &amp;amp; Hospitality had a notably higher percentage of part-time jobs. But unlike Leisure &amp;amp; Hospitality, where less than 20% of the openings require training past high school; 45% of jobs in Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance require postsecondary education, and 62% required a certificate or license. Because of the higher requirements, Health Care also offered higher median wage offers, at $15.59, compared to closer to $13.00 an hour in Leisure &amp;amp; Hospitality.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The rising wages and part-time schedule flexibility are designed to attract new workers for the thousands of openings in the region. At a more detailed level, some of the jobs that are in highest demand in health care include Healthcare Support occupations such as:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=311120&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Home Health &amp;amp; Personal Care Aides&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1,127 vacancies, 44% part-time, 11% requiring postsecondary education, $12.97 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=311131&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Nursing Assistants&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;430 vacancies, 70% part-time, 51% requiring postsecondary education, $14.20 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=319092&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Medical Assistants&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;87 vacancies, 58% part-time, 40% requiring postsecondary education, $16.19 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=319097&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Phlebotomists&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;29 vacancies, 96% part-time, 17% requiring postsecondary education, $15.83 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Demand was also rising rapidly for Healthcare Practitioners &amp;amp; Technical positions, including:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=291141&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Registered Nurses&lt;/a&gt; (RN)
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;522 vacancies, 63% part-time, 100% requiring postsecondary education, $29.58 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=292061&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Licensed Practical &amp;amp; Licensed Vocational Nurses&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;306 vacancies, 53% part-time, 100% requiring postsecondary education, $20.35 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=292052&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Pharmacy Technicians&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;277 vacancies, 47% part-time, 10% requiring postsecondary education, $16.94 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=292040&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Emergency Medical Technicians &amp;amp; Paramedics&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;44 vacancies, 80% part-time, 98% requiring postsecondary education, $18.90 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=292034&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Radiologic Technologists &amp;amp; Technicians&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;36 vacancies, 70% part-time, 53% requiring postsecondary education, $19.34 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData.aspx?code=292010&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Clinical Laboratory Technologist &amp;amp; Technicians&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;33 vacancies, 16% part-time, 90% requiring postsecondary education, $21.96 wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The 522 postings for RNs is the highest number on record, but those openings all require at least an associate degree, with some employers expressing a preference for bachelor&apos;s degrees. That means job seekers who are interested in becoming an RN will require time and training; but may be able to start in some of the entry-level Healthcare Support occupations in the region and then move their way up the career ladder. Many employers will even help pay for or provide the training to get into those jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Health Care Month: January 2022&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To learn more about Health Care Month in Minnesota, visit &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/HealthCare&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;careerforcemn.com/HealthCare&lt;/a&gt;. This page includes resources for job seekers, students and educators and employers. For example, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/HealthCareMonthEvents&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;numerous hiring events and career fairs&lt;/a&gt; are happening throughout the month of January for those looking for work in the health care industry. Employers can also find additional resources for &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/employers&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;attracting, developing, and retaining talent online here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>513816</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:26Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Tis the Season for Retail in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>Tis the Season for Retail in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Tis the Season for Retail in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2021-12-06 Retail ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-511924&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-12-06T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As Black Friday deals rolled out again, retail wasn&apos;t just offering a huge number of deals; retailers were also providing a huge number of jobs.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As Black Friday deals rolled out again, retail wasn&apos;t just offering a huge number of deals; retailers were also providing a huge number of jobs. In the second quarter of 2021, there were more than 2,350 Retail establishments providing just under 27,500 jobs in Northwest Minnesota. That was down about 800 jobs from pre-pandemic employment peaks, but up by almost 1,600 jobs compared to the second quarter of 2020.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This job recovery is also reflected in the surging number of &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;job vacancies in the region&lt;/a&gt;. Retail Trade employers in Northwest Minnesota reported nearly 4,000 job vacancies in Q2 2021, easily the highest number on record, and up more than 900 compared to the previous peak (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/112321_nw_figure1_tcm1045-511927.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Retail Trade Job Vacancies 2001-2021&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Retail Trade Job Vacancies 2001-2021&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;112321_nw_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The increasing number of vacancies is due in part to the job rebound in retail trade employment, and also to the tight labor market. Many of these jobs have remained open as retailers have struggled to fill vacancies in a strong economy where job seekers have access to many other opportunities. Retail Trade has responded by improving the quality of the jobs available – for example, median wage offers have climbed 41% in the past 5 years – from $10.29 per hour in 2016 to $14.49 in 2021 (see Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/112321_nw_figure2_tcm1045-511931.png&quot; title=&quot;Retail Trade Job Vacancy Details 2016-2021&quot; alt=&quot;Retail Trade Job Vacancy Details 2016-2021&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;112321_nw_figure2&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The rising wages may help attract new workers, but many jobseekers also value the flexibility that comes with retail employment. However, the percentage of jobs that are part-time was also changing –only about one-third of retail vacancies were part-time in 2021, compared to more than 50% from 2016 to 2019. Many retail jobs are also seasonal, allowing jobseekers to work during the busy times to earn extra money.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to the cash, most retail jobs also teach valuable job skills including customer service, teamwork, and problem solving. These skills come in handy in almost every job and career path. With a multitude of vacancies, jobseekers might like to see what&apos;s in store for them in retail.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>511924</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:25Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Veterans in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>Veterans in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Veterans in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2021-11-08 Vets ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-507952&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-11-08T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>In appreciation of those who have served in our nation’s military, past and present, and their families, this month’s Local Look blog post focuses on veterans in the region and the available resources to assist them in gaining successful employment.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In appreciation of those who have served in our nation&apos;s military, past and present, and their families, this month&apos;s Local Look blog post focuses on veterans in the region and the available resources to assist them in gaining successful employment. According to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/mdva/assets/2020-mdva-annual-report_tcm1066-461306.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs&lt;/a&gt; (MDVA), there are just under 42,000 veterans in the 26-county Northwest Minnesota region, or 13% of the 321,810 veterans in the state. This means the region has a higher concentration of veterans, since the region has only 10% of the total population.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The majority of veterans in the region and the state are 65 years and older, serving during past conflicts, with the largest number serving during Vietnam. As such, only 12,185 veterans in the region are between the ages of 18 and 64 and assumed to be actively participating in the labor force (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Veterans in Northwest Minnesota, 2020&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Veterans&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Total Population&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent Veterans&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Veterans, 18 to 64, in the Labor Force&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Becker Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,852&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;35,183&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;8.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;772&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Beltrami Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,050&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46,228&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;6.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,027&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Cass Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,916&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30,066&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;9.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;720&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Clay Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,552&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65,318&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;5.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,236&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Clearwater Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;724&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8,524&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;8.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;227&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Crow Wing Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,478&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;66,123&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;8.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,465&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Douglas Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,812&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;39,006&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;807&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Grant Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;429&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,074&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;106&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hubbard Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,927&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,344&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;9.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;658&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Kittson Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;312&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,207&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Lake of the Woods Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;305&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,763&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;8.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;89&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Mahnomen Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;309&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,411&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;5.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;88&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Marshall Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;568&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,040&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;6.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;181&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Morrison Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,629&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34,010&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;846&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Norman Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;441&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,441&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;6.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;120&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Otter Tail Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4,440&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;60,081&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,058&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pennington Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;936&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13,992&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;6.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;429&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Polk Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,985&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31,192&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;6.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;595&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pope Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;879&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11,308&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;213&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Red Lake Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;252&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,935&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;6.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;88&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Roseau Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,002&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15,331&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;6.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;438&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Stevens Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;493&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9,671&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;5.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;84&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Todd Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,996&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25,262&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;524&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Traverse Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;259&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,360&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;77&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wadena Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,093&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14,065&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;176&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wilkin Co.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;354&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,506&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;5.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;100&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;41,993&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;575,441&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;7.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;12,185&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;321,810&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5,706,494&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;5.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;109,835&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota Dept. of Veterans Affairs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Prior to the pandemic, veterans had a slightly higher unemployment rate than non-veterans in the region. Unfortunately, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals the impact the COVID-19 recession had upon &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bls.gov/news.release/vet.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;veterans in the labor market&lt;/a&gt; overall. In Minnesota, the unemployment rate for veterans rose from 4.9% in 2019 to 8.3% in 2020. That would equate to just over 1,000 unemployed veterans in the region last year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;More specifically, the regional unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty at any time since September 2001 was even higher at 7.3%, and the rate for the youngest veterans (18 to 24 years) was significantly higher at 14.6%. Unemployment rates also increased for both male and female veterans in 2020, with the male rate at 6.5% and the female rate at 6.7%. That was nearly double the rates reported by veterans of each gender in 2019.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/102921_nw_figure1_tcm1045-507981.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancies by Industry&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancies by Industry&quot; style=&quot;width: 60%;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xlink:title=&quot;102921_nw_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;The good news is that new &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; data reveals that employers in Northwest Minnesota posted more than 17,750 openings in the second quarter of 2021, the highest number ever reported. While the explosion of job vacancies in the region is good for all job seekers, of particular note for veterans is that there are nearly 2,000 postings in Manufacturing, 540 vacancies in Government/Public Administration, and nearly 300 openings in Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing, which are the three industries where veterans are much more likely to work than non-veterans (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;If you are a veteran and seeking employment in any industry, not just the big three highlighted in the chart, the following steps can help:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Contact a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/veterans-resources&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Veterans Employment Representative&lt;/a&gt;. They work with employers as well as one-on-one with veterans to provide custom-tailored services&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Post your resume on &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minnesotaworks.net/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;MinnesotaWorks.net&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Visit &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/events&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerForceMN.com&lt;/a&gt; for information on upcoming career fairs, employer hiring events, job club networking, job transition meetings, and more&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Explore career options with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.mynextmove.org/vets/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;My Next Move for Veterans&lt;/a&gt; or with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careeronestop.org/Veterans/default.aspx?frd=true&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerOneStop&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>507952</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:23Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Manufacturing Resilience in Northwest Minnesota </Description><Audience/><Title>Manufacturing Resilience in Northwest Minnesota </Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Manufacturing Resilience in Northwest Minnesota </Title><title>2021-09-27 Mfg ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-500658&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-09-27T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>h around 28,000 jobs at more than 820 establishments, Manufacturing is one of the most important industries in Northwest Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With around 28,000 jobs at more than 820 establishments, Manufacturing is one of the most important industries in Northwest Minnesota. In fact, about one in every seven jobs in Northwest are in Manufacturing, making it the second largest employing industry behind only Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance. Manufacturing also provided roughly $1.5 billion in total payroll in the region in 2020, with average annual wages of just under $55,000. That was nearly $10,000 higher than the total of all industries in the region, where annual wages averaged $45,200 in 2020.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The pandemic recession affected the economy across the state, and while it had a smaller impact in Northwest Minnesota, the region still lost jobs from the first to the second quarter of 2020, cutting nearly 14,000 jobs over the quarter. Since then, the region has steadily built employment back up, with Manufacturing helping to lead the charge, regaining 1,375 jobs from the second quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021, a 5.1% increase (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The largest manufacturing sector in Northwest Minnesota is Food Manufacturing, which had nearly 6,000 jobs at 95 firms in 2020. As consumer preferences and needs changed during the pandemic, employment actually increased at Food Manufacturing over the year, with the region adding just over 50 jobs in 2020. With a range of entry-level and higher skilled jobs, Food Manufacturing offers average annual wages just above $54,000.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With 3,935 jobs at 158 shops, Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing is the second largest manufacturing sector in the region. This includes Machine Shops that supply the region&apos;s other large and distinguishing sectors: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, which had about 3,850 jobs at 31 employers, and Machinery Manufacturing, which had just over 3,800 jobs at 98 establishments. Both of those sectors have high location quotients in Northwest Minnesota, providing a competitive advantage over other parts of the state. The region also has a large and successful Wood Product Manufacturing sector, with 3,171 jobs at 70 firms (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Employment Statistics, 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Annual Average, 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Average Annual Wages&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Change in Jobs, 2019-2020&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Firms&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Number&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Food Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;95&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5,969&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$54,028&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+52&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+0.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;158&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,935&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$51,064&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-229&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Transportation Equipment Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,848&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$58,136&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-489&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-11.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Machinery Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;98&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,809&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$64,220&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-175&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wood Product Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,171&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$55,432&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-236&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Printing &amp;amp; Related Support Activities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1,072&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$38,272&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-190&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-15.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Plastics &amp;amp; Rubber Products Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;947&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$48,828&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+25&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer &amp;amp; Electronic Product Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;946&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$62,140&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;914&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$64,844&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-54&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Miscellaneous Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;87&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;806&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$41,444&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-28&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Furniture &amp;amp; Related Product Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;611&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$46,592&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-36&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Primary Metal Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;570&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$56,524&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-78&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-12.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Chemical Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;420&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$61,984&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Textile Product Mills&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;348&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$34,060&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-44&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-11.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Beverage &amp;amp; Tobacco Product Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;255&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$26,676&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Electrical Equipment, Appliance, &amp;amp; Component Mfg.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;140&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$55,432&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Apparel Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$12,341&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-4&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-22.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Jobseekers who are considering a career path or looking to get back into the labor market in Northwest Minnesota will find a tremendous amount of opportunity in the Manufacturing industry. According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; results from the fourth quarter 2020, there were nearly 1,200 manufacturing openings, which was the second highest number of manufacturing openings on record in the region. Manufacturing jobs in the region are often living wage jobs: median wage offers topped $15 per hour and 80% of the jobs offered health care insurance. Both wages and percentage of jobs offering health insurance are higher for manufacturing job openings than the total of all openings across all industries, at $14.26 and 58%, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturing Month event information and resources for employers, educators, students and job seekers:&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/industry/manufacturing&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerForceMN.com/Manufacturing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>500658</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:24Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description>Staying in Shape in Northwest Minnesota</Description><Audience/><Title>Staying in Shape in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Staying in Shape in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2021-08-30 Fitness ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-495882&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-08-30T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Like the muscles and endurance of the patrons they serve, employment had been building up rapidly at Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers over time.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Like the muscles and endurance of the patrons they serve, employment had been building up rapidly at Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers over time. Statewide, after adding more than 200 new locations and more than 4,000 additional jobs since 2010, there were around 700 establishments providing just over 13,000 jobs in 2019. That made it the largest and fastest growing subsector among Other Amusement and Recreation Industries, which also includes Golf Courses and Country Clubs, Skiing Facilities, Marinas, Bowling Centers, and All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, Fitness Centers and Gyms were one of the industries hit hardest by the pandemic, with nearly two-thirds of employment in the state sliced between the first and second quarters of 2020. The cuts were not as deep in Northwest Minnesota, but still nearly half of the jobs at Fitness Centers were lost in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. The region was home to 50 Fitness &amp;amp; Recreational Sports Centers in 2020, which was up by 2 compared to 2019, but employment dropped by more than 180 jobs over the quarter and has grown in fits and starts since then along with the virus (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082521_nw_figure1_tcm1045-495877.png&quot; title=&quot;Employment in Fitness &amp;amp; Recreational Sports Centers, 2018-2021&quot; alt=&quot;Employment in Fitness &amp;amp; Recreational Sports Centers, 2018-2021&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082521_nw_figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The good news is that like elastic bands, employment at Fitness Centers in Northwest Minnesota snapped back quickly. In fact, Fitness Centers in the region actually had one more job and a net gain of five new establishments in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2019. While jobs were still down in 2020 due to the pandemic, Fitness Centers have returned to their pre-pandemic shape much more rapidly in Northwest Minnesota than in the rest of the state.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While still relatively low, average wages at Fitness Centers have expanded even more, jumping more than 23% from the first quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2021. This may reflect that existing workers are getting more hours, or that the industry is paying higher wages to attract and retain workers. Either scenario is likely to be welcomed as an outcome in the industry, which tends to have part-time hours, lower wages and low entry-level educational requirements. Of the top 10 occupations in demand at Fitness Centers, all can at least be started with a high school diploma or less, with wages ranging between $12 and $20 per hour (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Wages for Occupations in Demand at Fitness Centers&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Wages for Occupations in Demand at Fitness Centers&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot;&gt;SOC Occupational Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Median Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Typical Education Required&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=399031&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Exercise Trainers &amp;amp; Group Fitness Instructors&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$15.63&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=393091&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Amusement &amp;amp; Recreation Attendants&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$12.10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=434171&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Receptionists &amp;amp; Information Clerks&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$15.16&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=399011&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Childcare Workers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$12.39&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=339092&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Lifeguards &amp;amp; Other Recreational Protective Service Workers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$11.89&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=272022&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Coaches &amp;amp; Scouts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$13.67&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=372011&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Janitors &amp;amp; Cleaners&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$15.93&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=399032&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Recreation Workers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$12.64&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=434051&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Customer Service Representatives&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$18.71&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=391098&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;First-line Supervisors of Personal Service &amp;amp; Recreation Workers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;$20.70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;High School or Less&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;3&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Occupational Employment &amp;amp; Wage Statistics&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For jobseekers interested in working with people and making a positive difference in people&apos;s lives while remaining active, a job at a Fitness Center may be the perfect fit. Whether you&apos;re looking for work now or thinking ahead, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/virtual-interactive-services-career-seekers&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerForce&lt;/a&gt; offers many job search resources and services you can access from home. &lt;strong&gt;You can find contact information for staff at a CareerForce location near you at&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/locations&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerForceMN.com/locations&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>495882</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:23Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Construction in Northwest: the tide that’s lifting all boats?</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Construction in Northwest: The Tide that’s Lifting all Boats?</Title><title>2021-08-06 Construction ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-493343&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-08-10T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>The end of July brought us the latest data from DEED’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The end of July brought us the latest data from DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/qcew-econ-highlights.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/a&gt; program. The first quarter 2021 data provide our most up-to-date and detailed look into the economic recovery statewide as well as here in Northwest Minnesota. The employment component of the QCEW program showed that the overall number of jobs remained down -3.2% compared to the first quarter of 2020, the final quarter before the impacts of the pandemic rippled across the U.S. economy. That was the smallest deficit of the 6 planning regions and the smallest over-the year loss across the past four quarters. Despite having fewer absolute jobs than in both the 3rd and 4th quarter, regional employment is relatively closer to what it was a year previously. By comparison, second quarter 2020 employment was -11.2% below second quarter 2019.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Industry Employment Statistics in Northwest Minnesota Q1 2020 - Q1 2021&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Industry Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2021 Q1 Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Change of Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Percent Change of Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Average Weekly Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Percent Change in Average Weekly Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,447&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-581&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-19.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$422&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+15.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Accommodation and Food Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;16,406&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-3,373&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-17.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$334&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Educational Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;21,991&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-2,238&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-9.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$871&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+5.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Management of Companies&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;562&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-8.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1,984&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Other Services (except Public Admin.)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;5,960&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-536&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-8.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$507&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+11.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Mining&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;106&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-8&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-7.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$723&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-10.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Public Administration&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;15,260&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-731&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-4.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$971&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-0.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;208,348&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6,963&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;$883&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Health Care and Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;38,162&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-1,036&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-2.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$884&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;26,391&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-672&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-2.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$561&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+6.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Real Estate Rental and Leasing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,453&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-35&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-2.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$824&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+16.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Finance and Insurance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;5,869&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-123&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-2.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1,271&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+8.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Utilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,232&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-25&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1,878&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+0.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Professional, Scientific, and Technical Svcs.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;4,705&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-92&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-1.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1,087&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+6.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;4,457&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-78&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-1.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$859&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+3.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;28,212&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-369&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-1.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1,145&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+6.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Information&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,504&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-32&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-1.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1,002&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+10.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Transportation and Warehousing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;6,250&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+127&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$835&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+3.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Wholesale Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;11,096&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+240&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1,168&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+3.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Admin Support and Waste Mgmt Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3,597&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+117&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$616&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+0.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;11,683&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2,535&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+27.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1,346&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+37.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While most sectors lost jobs between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, there was one very notable exception. The Construction sector added over 2,500 jobs, expanding an astounding 27.7% (see Table 1). The next largest relative employment growth was in Administrative Support and Waste Management Services, a 3.4% increase.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to the number of jobs added, the rate of pay also increased, both within Construction as well as across all industries. The average wage for the total of all industries increased 7.9%, from $818 to $883 per week. Wages in the Construction sector grew faster than employment, ballooning nearly 38% over the year – more than double the next largest wage increase which occurred in Real Estate, Rental and Leasing. Lastly, total quarterly payroll in Construction increased by a whopping 75.7% while the average for all industries was up just 4.5%. Without the Construction sector, over-the-year overall employment change drops from -3.2% to -4.6%, average weekly wage growth falls from 7.9% to 5.5%, and total payroll decreases from 4.5% to 0.7%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2. Construction Industry Employment Statistics in Northwest Minnesota, 2020-2021&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Industry Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2020 Q1 Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2021 Q1 Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Employment Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Percent Change of Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Construction&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;9,148&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;11,683&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,535&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+27.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Construction of Buildings (236)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,141&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,265&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+124&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+5.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Residential Building Construction (2361)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,372&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,367&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-5&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-0.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Nonresidential Building Construction (2362)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;769&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;898&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+129&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+16.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (237)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,528&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;4,844&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2,316&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+91.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Utility System Construction (2371)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;794&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3,129&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2,335&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+294.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Land Subdivision (2372)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;9&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+11.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction (2373)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,671&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,617&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-3.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (2379)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;53&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;88&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+35&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+66.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Specialty Trade Contractors (238)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;4,478&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;4,573&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+95&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors (2381)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;736&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;794&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+58&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+7.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Building Equipment Contractors (2382)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,440&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,430&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-0.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Building Finishing Contractors (2383)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;697&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;709&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+12&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+1.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Other Specialty Trade Contractors (2389)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;604&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;639&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+35&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+5.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;We can be confident that most of the growth in the Construction sector was attributable to large projects such as the construction of the Line 3 pipeline. The large job growth was driven by gains in Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction, specifically Utility System Construction and Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction. In fact, Utility System Construction employment nearly quadrupled. By comparison, the other two subsectors – Construction of Buildings and Specialty Trade Contractors – added only a combined 219 jobs over the year (see Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The increase also appears to have &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/energy-and-mining/6958283-Line-3-promised-to-be-a-boon-to-northern-Minnesota%E2%80%99s-economy.-Halfway-into-construction-has-it-lived-up-to-its-promise&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;buoyed Construction employment during the typical seasonal low point&lt;/a&gt;. Construction jobs in the first quarter of 2021 were actually lower than during the previous three quarters, but as the first quarter employment is typically just under 80% of the annual average, the first quarter levels actually appear as significant growth. As other projects slowed down the work on the pipeline forged ahead, keeping many Construction workers employed when they otherwise may have been laid off at least temporarily.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Among other industries, Transportation and Warehousing (2.1%) and Wholesale Trade (2.2%) also experienced employment growth over the year. The largest losses belonged to Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (-19.2%) and Accommodation and Food Services (-17.1%), as two of the hardest hit industries throughout the pandemic continued to lag. Those two industries also had the lowest average weekly wages, supporting the finding that it was &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2020/profile-of-risk.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;primarily low-wage workers&lt;/a&gt; that lost jobs, especially early on in the pandemic shutdown.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;More recently, there were &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.startribune.com/more-minnesota-employers-raise-starting-pay-eager-to-get-rolling-again/600063178/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;stories of rising wages&lt;/a&gt; in industries struggling to hire, including those in Leisure &amp;amp; Hospitality. However, while the average weekly wage in Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation grew 15%, it expanded only 1.2% for workers in Accommodation and Food Services jobs. These trends point toward a choppy and incomplete recovery that differs by industry. Most industries have not had the benefit of a large, generational project upon which to sustain themselves.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:carson.gorecki@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Carson Gorecki&lt;/a&gt; at 218-333-8253.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Carson Gorecki</Author><id>493343</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:23Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Importance of Education Employment in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Importance of Education Employment in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2021-07-07 Education ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-488771&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-07-07T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Educational Services is a key industry in the Northwest region, with a greater concentration of employees in this industry than the state as a whole.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Educational Services is a key industry in the Northwest region, with a greater concentration of employees in this industry than the state as a whole. The impacts of the pandemic on this industry varied by industry subsector and by type of government entity that is the employer.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Location quotients are one technique to determine a region&apos;s economic specialties. An analytical statistic that measures a region&apos;s industrial specialization relative to a larger geographic unit, a location quotient (LQ) can show us how concentrated an industry is in a particular area. When looking at Educational Services employment across the state, Northwest Minnesota stands head and shoulders above the rest with a location quotient of 1.24. A score greater than 1.0 indicates an industry that is more concentrated in the region than it is for the state (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Location Quotients for Educational Services, 2020&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.24&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southwest Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Central Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.07&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northeast Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.06&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Southeast Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.99&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Seven County Twin Cities Metro&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.97&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages&lt;/a&gt; data tool shows that the vast majority of employment in the Educational Services industry is in government not the private sector. At the local government level, which primarily includes Elementary and Secondary Schools, there are 272 establishments that employ 15,741 people, or 75% of all employment in the sector, with an average annual wage of $46,332. Next, there are 17 state government Educational Services establishments in the region with 3,067 jobs, primarily at colleges and universities. Average annual wages were $64,324 for this ownership group because wages typically are higher for professors than they are for teachers. Private Educational Services – which includes charter schools at the elementary and secondary level, private colleges, and fine art schools, among other specialties – employs 2,240 people in the region, but average annual wages are over $12,000 less than they are for Educational Services as a whole (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2. Northwest Minnesota Educational Services Industry Statistics&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Ownership&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Number of Employees&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Number of Establishments&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Total Wages&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Avg. Annual Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2019-2020 Change in Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2015-2020 Change in Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total, All Ownerships&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21,048&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;384&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$1,000,151,769&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$47,840&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1,635&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-7.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-405&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total Government&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18,808&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;289&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$921,659,481&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$49,296&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1,241&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-6.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-523&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;State Government&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3,067&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$196,811,951&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$64,324&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-65&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-2.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-276&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-8.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Local Government&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15,741&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;272&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$724,847,530&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$46,332&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1,175&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-6.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-246&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Private&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2,240&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;95&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$78,492,288&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$35,360&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-394&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;-15.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+118&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;+5.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;9&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This detailed data becomes more clear because QCEW also categorizes the Educational Services industry through &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/naics/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;North American Industry Classification System or NAICS code&lt;/a&gt;. At the 4-digit level, Elementary and Secondary Schools make up the lion&apos;s share of employment with 15,853 jobs. As noted above, the state government ownership corresponds with the 4-digit (6113) Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools code and they both have about 3,000 employed and higher average annual wages. Other Schools and Instruction, such as Fine Arts Schools, Sports and Recreation Instruction, and Language Schools, have 47 firms in the region and offer 676 jobs, primarily in the private sector. Finally, Educational Support Services is the highest paying subsector but has the smallest number of jobs in the region. This includes educational consultants, educational testing services, and career and vocational counseling services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 3. Northwest Minnesota Educational Services Industry Statistics&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;2020 Annual Average&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2019-2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;NAICS Code&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Industry Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Employees&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Establishments&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Avg. Annual Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Numeric Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Educational Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;21,048&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;384&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$47,840&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-1,635&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-7.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;6111&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Elementary &amp;amp; Secondary Schools&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;15,853&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;291&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$45,448&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-994&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-5.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;6113&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Colleges, Universities, &amp;amp; Professional Schools&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;2,923&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;12&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$56,888&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-286&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-8.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;6114&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Business Schools &amp;amp; Computer &amp;amp; Mgmt. Training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$28,808&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-6.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;6116&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Other Schools &amp;amp; Instruction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;676&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;47&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$25,896&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-271&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-28.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;6117&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Educational Support Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;367&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;13&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$67,600&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-25&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-6.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However you classify the Educational Services industry, the overall trend is that this sector was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as annual average employment in 2020 dropped by 7.2% with the loss of 1,635 jobs compared to 2019 annual averages. Elementary and Secondary Schools experienced the greatest drop in jobs, with nearly 1,000 lost in the region, while Other Schools and Instruction lost more than a quarter of its employment with a 271 job decrease over the year. Even Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools were not immune to job losses with a nearly 9% reduction in employment corresponding with the loss of 286 jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The effects of COVID-19 have been wide-ranging on the Educational Services industry and hopefully a return to normal can be found this upcoming school year for this vital industry in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>488771</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:21Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Competing for Workers in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Competing for Workers in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2021-06-08 Competing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-484441&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-06-08T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As the regional economy continues to return to normal following the pandemic recession, employers in Northwest Minnesota are in hiring mode again but they&apos;re finding a tight labor market.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the regional economy continues to return to normal following the pandemic recession, employers in Northwest Minnesota are in hiring mode again but they&apos;re finding a tight labor market. DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; from the fourth quarter of 2020 showed 11,255 job openings in the region, which is the fourth highest number on record. When compared to the count of unemployed workers from DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/laus/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Local Area Unemployment Statistics&lt;/a&gt;, the region has already returned to a nearly 1-to-1 jobseeker to job vacancy ratio, essentially identical to pre-pandemic times.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This is a very different labor market scenario than what we saw during and following the Great Recession, when there were over 4.5 workers for every job vacancy. Things were tough for workers in 2009 as the number of unemployed climbed steadily and remained high due to widespread job loss, while the number of available jobs dropped below 5,000 and hovered around there for the next three years (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/052621_nw_figure1_tcm1045-484443.png&quot; title=&quot;Job Seekers per Vacancy, 2009-2020&quot; alt=&quot;Job Seekers per Vacancy, 2009-2020&quot; style=&quot;width: 80%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;052621_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Coming out of the current pandemic recession, with record high levels of demand, employers are looking for workers and often struggling to find them for a variety of reasons. This article from DEED shows that it is &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/june-2021/simple.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;more than an issue of simple supply and demand&lt;/a&gt;. The authors suggest that employers may need to try more proactive outreach and outbound engagement to find the workers they need. This can include contacting their &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/locations&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;local CareerForce location&lt;/a&gt;, posting their jobs on &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minnesotaworks.net/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;MinnesotaWorks.net&lt;/a&gt;, creating employee referral programs, and reaching out to new populations.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to the fourth quarter Job Vacancy Survey results for Northwest Minnesota, the industries that have the most current openings in the region include:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Retail Trade – 3,086 vacancies, 32% part-time, $12.89 median wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance – 2,847 vacancies, 53% part-time, $15.66 median wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services – 1,382 vacancies, 42% part-time, $11.94 median wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Manufacturing – 1,188 vacancies, 8% part-time, $15.06 median wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Educational Services – 925 vacancies, 79% part-time, $15.55 median wage offer&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Together, these five industries account for nearly 85% of all the vacancies posted in the region. With the exception of Manufacturing, many of these industries are offering a lot of part-time work, and the majority of them are offering wages at or below $15 per hour. In addition, only 58% of all vacancies in the region are offering health insurance benefits, including only 13% in Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services and 16% in Educational Services, which may be preventing workers from jumping into those jobs. In contrast, just over 75% of job postings in Retail Trade are now offering health insurance, a sign that those employers are willing to offer new benefits to attract more workers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>484441</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:21Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Northwest Minnesota Bounces Back</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota Bounces Back</Title><title>2021-04-29 Northwest Minnesota Bounces Back ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-479714&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-04-29T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>With the release of Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) employment data for the fourth quarter of 2020, we now have the clearest picture yet of how the pandemic-induced recession impacted Northwest Minnesota’s economy.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With the release of &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages&lt;/a&gt; (QCEW) employment data for the fourth quarter of 2020, we now have the clearest picture yet of how the pandemic-induced recession impacted Northwest Minnesota&apos;s economy. As has been covered in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/regional-lmi/economic-updates.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;past monthly updates&lt;/a&gt;, Northwest Minnesota has seen the strongest bounce back from the pandemic recession of the six planning regions in the state.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking at annual employment averaged over all four quarters of 2020, employment in the region was 5.6% lower in 2020 compared to 2019. While that was severe, Northwest Minnesota fared better than the state as a whole which finished the year down 6.7%.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;By comparing first quarter to second quarter we can capture the initial impacts of the state shutdown in March of last year. In Northwest Minnesota, 13,943 jobs were lost between the first and second quarters, representing a -6.5% decline in employment. That was the smallest relative employment loss in the state, and nearly half the decline experienced in both Northeast and the Twin Cities metro area.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In the recovery that followed from the second quarter to the third quarter, Northwest regained 12,973 jobs, the highest share among planning regions. At that level, that covered 93% of the job losses; whereas the Twin Cities gained back only 33% of jobs lost, and other regions recovered between 40% and 60% of the jobs lost from first to second quarter. Then, even though Northwest was the only region that saw a job loss from the third to the fourth quarter of 2020, it was still closest to its pre-pandemic employment level (see Table 1) in the fourth quarter.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Industry Employment Trends by Region, 2020&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Geography&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q1
&lt;br /&gt;
2020
&lt;br /&gt;
Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q2
&lt;br /&gt;
2020
&lt;br /&gt;
Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q1-Q2
&lt;br /&gt;
Job
&lt;br /&gt;
Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q3
&lt;br /&gt;
2020
&lt;br /&gt;
Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q2-Q3
&lt;br /&gt;
Job
&lt;br /&gt;
Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q4
&lt;br /&gt;
2020
&lt;br /&gt;
Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q3-Q4
&lt;br /&gt;
Job
&lt;br /&gt;
Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q1-Q4
&lt;br /&gt;
Job
&lt;br /&gt;
Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Q4 % of
&lt;br /&gt;
Q1
&lt;br /&gt;
Emp.&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,856,226&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,560,495&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-295,731&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,682,876&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+122,381&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,728,214&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+45,338&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-128,012&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;95.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Central&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;272,300&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;250,935&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-21,365&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;263,625&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+12,690&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;265,808&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2,183&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-6,492&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;97.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Northeast&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;139,914&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;123,430&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-16,484&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;131,778&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+8,348&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;132,114&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+336&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-7,800&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;94.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Northwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;215,170&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;201,227&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-13,943&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;214,200&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+12,973&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;212,363&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-1,837&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-2,807&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;98.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Twin Cities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,756,278&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,548,924&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-207,354&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,617,309&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+68,385&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,651,423&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+34,114&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-104,855&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;94.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Southeast&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;243,210&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;221,059&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-22,151&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;232,602&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+11,543&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;235,500&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+2,898&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-7,710&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;96.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Southwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;172,007&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;160,383&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-11,624&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;165,834&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+5,451&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;169,533&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;+3,699&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;-2,474&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;98.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;10&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Industry Breakdown&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;One trademark of the current recession is unequal impacts across industries. Good-producing sectors like Construction, Mining, and Manufacturing have fared much better than the Service-providing sectors like Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services and Other Services. Northwest Minnesota may have benefited from having more employment concentrated in Goods-producing sectors, but also in those Service-providing sectors that were impacted least, such as Retail Trade and Public Administration.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Thirteen out of twenty industries lost employment between the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2020 (see Figure 1). Of those thirteen, the job losses in Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services were by far the greatest, nearly reaching 6,000 over one quarter. The next greatest counts of job losses were in Educational Services (-3,514 jobs), Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance (-2,216 jobs), and Manufacturing (-1,745 jobs).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While Manufacturing saw significant job loss in the Q2, the bounce back was also swifter than in other industries. By the fourth quarter, nearly all of the lost jobs were recovered in the region. Retail Trade, Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing, and Public Administration fared even better, even adding more jobs than were lost in the second quarter.  Four industries gained jobs during both time periods, led by huge gains in the region in Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing &amp;amp; Hunting, as well as smaller gains in Administrative Support and Waste Management Services, Wholesale Trade, and Management of Companies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Professional, Scientific, &amp;amp; Technical Services saw employment decline a further 15% in the second half of the year. However Professional, Scientific, &amp;amp; Technical Services is a relatively small industry and that loss represented 36 jobs. Of the larger industries, Arts, Entertainment, &amp;amp; Recreation and Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services saw the smallest shares of jobs return. Educational Services also saw a smaller share of lost jobs return. The same industries that were hit the hardest initially had also recovered less fully by the end of 2020, indications of still-lingering impacts.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/042721_nw_figure1_tcm1045-479722.png&quot; title=&quot;Employment Recovery by Industry in Northwest Minnesota 2020&quot; alt=&quot;Employment Recovery by Industry in Northwest Minnesota 2020&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;042721_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>479714</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:20Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>IT Tripled in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>IT Tripled in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2021-03-31 IT Tripled in Northwest Minnesota ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-474005&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-03-31T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>With the amount of data that is now able to be collected and utilized, Information Technology plays a significant role in the modern economy.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With the amount of data that is now able to be collected and utilized, Information Technology plays a significant role in the modern economy. Harnessing this knowledge is at the heart of the Information Technology field, which offers fast growing and well-paying opportunities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While Information Technology is not an official industry classification, the sector most closely related is Computer Systems Design and Related Services (NAICS 5415. With 72 firms providing 461 jobs, the industry is rapidly growing in Northwest Minnesota, expanding by 70.1% since 2015 and more than tripling its employment over the last 10 years. In addition, average annual wages for the sector are $81,172, which is nearly double the average annual wage across all industries in the region. However, it&apos;s still a relatively small industry, with Northwest Minnesota accounting for only 1.3% of jobs in that industry sector within the state of Minnesota, and with lower wages but faster growth (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Employment Statistics for Computer Systems Design and Related Services (NAICS 5415)&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;2019 Annual&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;2015-2019 Change in Jobs&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;2009-2019 Change in Jobs&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Number of Firms&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Number of Employees&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Total Payroll&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Avg. Annual Wage&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Number&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Percent&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Number&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Percent&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;72&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;461&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$37,498,997&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$81,172&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+190&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+70.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+313&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+211.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6,064&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36,592&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$4,179,297,064&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$114,192&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,730&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8,953&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+32.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;9&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source:&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;But looking just at that sector paints an incomplete picture of demand, since every sector of the economy utilizes Information Technology. Because of that, it&apos;s more helpful to look at occupational data, which shows a larger number of opportunities in this growing and well-paying career path.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Wages range from $23 to nearly $60 an hour for Information Technology occupations in Northwest Minnesota, with education requirements ranging from vocational training to bachelor&apos;s degrees. All 10 computer occupations are projected to need either new workers or replacements for existing workers who retire or leave over the next 10 years, with the highest demand for Computer User Support Specialists, Software Developers, and Computer Systems Analysts. The projected number of total hires show thousands of openings for all Information Technology occupations in the region, including labor market exit openings and transfer occupation openings (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2. Occupation Employment Statistics for Information Technology in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Occupation&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Estimated Regional Employment&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Median Hourly Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;2018-2028 Total Hire&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;s&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Education Requirements&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer User Support Specialists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;550&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$23.32&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+799&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Vocational&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Software Developers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;330&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$40.22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+491&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Systems Analysts&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;240&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$31.84&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+429&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Network Architects&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$57.83&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+269&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Network &amp;amp; Computer Systems Administrators&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;320&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$33.55&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+269&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Network Support Specialists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;210&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$29.05&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+161&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Associate&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Web Developers &amp;amp; Digital Interface Designers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;80&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$31.35&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+141&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Associate&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Occupations, All Other&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;110&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$34.73&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+140&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Database Administrators and Architects&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;90&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$41.05&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+85&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer Programmers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;120&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;$43.49&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+78&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Occupational Employment Statistics&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;,&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Employment Outlook&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;,&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/educational-requirements-occupations/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;and Education Requirements for Occupations&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Information Technology has been growing in Northwest Minnesota and is projected to continue gaining jobs in the future. Along with this growth potential, these occupations are very high paying in comparison to most jobs in the region, but do require additional education and training. Maybe IT is right for you!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;April 2021 is Tech Month in Minnesota. Learn more at &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/TechMonth&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CareerForceMN.com/TechMonth&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>474005</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:20Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>New Career Pathways in Northwest</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>New Career Pathways in Northwest</Title><title>2021-02-24 New Career Pathways in Northwest ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-469313&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-02-24T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>This pandemic has affected many aspects of the economy and these impacts may be lasting.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This pandemic has affected many aspects of the economy and these impacts may be lasting. To help people who are considering changing careers or are transitioning into the labor force, especially high school students, DEED has an updated &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/career-pathways-tool/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Career Pathways tool&lt;/a&gt; that aligns educational programming with employment opportunities in the region that can be utilized for those that might be exploring career options or seeking a new career.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The latest &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/laus/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Local Area Unemployment Statistics&lt;/a&gt; for December 2020 shows an unemployment rate of 5.0% for Northwest Minnesota, a rate that is lower than it was a year ago, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. While that sounds like good news, the lower unemployment rate is concealing the fact that more than 5,400 people in the region have left the labor force over the past year. In the midst of the pandemic, they are not working and are not currently seeking employment. There are a myriad of reasons for this phenomenon including: health concerns, child care responsibilities and early retirement.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Local Area Unemployment Statistics&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Unemp. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Labor Force&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Employed Workers&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Unemployed Workers&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;DEC 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;302,897&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;286,608&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15,289&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;DEC 2019&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;308,268&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;292,042&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16,226&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;em&gt;OTY Change&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-0.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5,371&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-5,434&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-937&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Whatever the reason, there will need to be efforts to bring back people to the labor force and those seeking a change in careers or entering the job market for the first time will be looking for local opportunities. Fortunately, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/career-pathways-tool/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Career Pathways data tool&lt;/a&gt; provides regional information regarding Occupations in Demand, employment projections, typical wages, required education, and additional resources. Not only does it provide all of this occupational data, but it also puts it in the framework of educational programming from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minnstate.edu/system/cte/consortium_resources/documents/POS-Career-Wheel-8x11-2016.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota State Career Wheel&lt;/a&gt;, which high school students would be very familiar with. This feature should allow those who are looking to transition to a new career to find the pathway that leads to attaining the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the various professions, whether it&apos;s more schooling, a certificate or on-the-job training.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;People can use the filters on the tool to match their situation. For example, the Career Pathways data tool shows over 80 occupations that have a 5 or 4 star ranking in Northwest Minnesota that are available with a High School Diploma or less as an education requirement. While many of these jobs have wages below $50,000 a year, there are also many more occupations that make higher wages including: Construction Equipment Operators and Operating Engineers, Highway Maintenance Workers, Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators, Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators, First-Line Supervisors of Production Workers, Excavating and Loading Machine Operators, Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers, Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Hearing Aid Specialists, Petroleum Pump System Operators, First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Figure 1. Career Pathways Dashboard&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/021021-nw-figure1_tcm1045-469321.png&quot; title=&quot;Career Pathways Dashboard&quot; alt=&quot;Career Pathways Dashboard&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;021021-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This is just one of many searches that can be conducted on the data tool. For example, if a person is interested in getting an associate degree, they can filter that option with the data tool to find local jobs with that requirement along with information regarding wages, availability, and associated Career Cluster. Aligning the pursuit of education with labor market realities is beneficial to job seekers and the regional economy as a whole.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the pandemic comes under control in the coming months and we move into economic recovery , utilizing local labor market information will be critical in helping people rejoin the labor force and reskill for in-demand jobs. The Career Pathways tool is a great place to start.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>469313</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:18Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Health Care Workforce Becoming More Diverse in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Health Care Workforce Becoming More Diverse in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2021-01-28 Health Care ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-464122&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-01-28T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>As it serves an increasingly diverse population in the region, the workforce in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry has also become more racially diverse over time.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As it serves an increasingly diverse population in the region, the workforce in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry has also become more racially diverse over time. Utilizing the &lt;a href=&quot;https://qwiexplorer.ces.census.gov/static/explore.html#x=0&amp;amp;g=0&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators&lt;/a&gt; dataset, we can examine the change in the racial make-up of industries in Northwest Minnesota. Health Care is already relatively diverse, but due to the impacts of COVID-19, there is an opportunity to increase the diversity of the industry’s workforce even more by recruiting laid-off workers from highly impacted industries, like Leisure &amp;amp; Hospitality.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The number of non-White employees in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry increased to nearly 3,000 workers by the first quarter of 2020, compared to just 2,183 five years ago in 2015, a 35.2% increase over that time. The largest gain came from Black or African American workers, which tripled in the region over the past 10 years. At the same time, the number of American Indian or Alaska Native health care workers declined by 34.2% since 2010. The increase in diversity of the industry’s workforce was also bolstered by substantial gains for Asians and workers of Two or More Race groups (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Health Care and Social Assistance Worker Demographics&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Health Care and Social Assistance Worker Demographics&quot; summary=&quot;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota&apos;s Health Care and Social Assistance Worker Demographics&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Total, All Races&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;White Alone&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Black or African American Alone&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;American Indian or Alaska Native Alone&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Asian Alone&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Two or More Race Groups&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Qtr. 1 2020&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;39,581&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;36,600&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,037&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;840&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;452&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;622&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Qtr. 1 2015&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;37,609&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;35,409&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;478&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;896&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;340&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;469&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Qtr. 1 2010&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;36,769&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;34,485&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;277&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,277&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;277&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;441&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: US Census Bureau&apos;s Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Comparing the diversity of the Health Care and Social Assistance workforce, which is the largest industry in the region, to the total of all industries, we find similar characteristics. Overall, 92.1% of the region’s workforce is white alone; nearly matching the workforce in the Health Care industry, where 92.5% of workers are white. But there are some notable differences compared to other industries that stand out.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Though Northwest Minnesota has the largest percentage of American Indians in the workforce, they are under-represented in the region’s Health Care and Social Assistance industry, holding just 2.1% of jobs. In comparison, American Indians hold 3.5% of all jobs, including 21.0% of jobs in Arts, Entertainment and Recreation, 15.2% of jobs in Public Administration, and 7.2% of jobs in Accommodation and Food Services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In contrast, Black or African Americans are highly represented in Health Care and Social Assistance in the region. Black or African American workers make up 2.6% of the Health Care workforce, compared to just 1.6% of the total workforce in the region (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2. Employee Count by Race for Northwest Minnesota, Quarter 1 2020&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; title=&quot;Table 2. Employee Count by Race for Northwest Minnesota, Quarter 1 2020&quot; summary=&quot;Table 2. Employee Count by Race for Northwest Minnesota, Quarter 1 2020&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot; /&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;All Races&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;White Alone&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Black or African American Alone&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;American Indian or Alaska Native Alone&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Asian Alone&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th class=&quot;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Two or More Race Groups&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;221,599&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;92.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Health Care and Social Assistance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;39,581&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;92.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.6%&amp;lt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Educational Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;27,314&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;95.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;27,054&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;93.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;26,524&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;93.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Accommodation &amp;amp; Food Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;20,794&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;85.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;7.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Public Administration&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;16,019&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;81.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;15.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Wholesale Trade&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;11,500&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;96.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Construction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;10,400&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;96.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Other Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;7,245&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;95.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Finance &amp;amp; Insurance&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;6,371&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;97.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Transportation &amp;amp; Warehousing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;5,175&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;95.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Professional, Scientific &amp;amp; Technical Services&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;5,114&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;95.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing &amp;amp; Hunting&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;4,592&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;93.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Administrative Support &amp;amp; Waste Mgmt. Svcs.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3,660&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;93.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Arts, Entertainment, &amp;amp; Recreation&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3,197&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;75.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;21.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Information&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3,164&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;93.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Real Estate &amp;amp; Rental &amp;amp; Leasing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,639&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;90.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Utilities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,313&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;98.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Management of Companies &amp;amp; Enterprises&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;793&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;95.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr align=&quot;left&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Mining, Quarrying, &amp;amp; Oil &amp;amp; Gas Extraction&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;149&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;98.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;0.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;7&quot; class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: US Census Bureau&apos;s Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite reflecting the overall diversity of the region’s workforce, the Health Care and Social Assistance industry has the fifth highest percentage of workers of other races. It ranks behind Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (75.0% of the workforce is white alone), Public Administration (81.4%), Accommodation and Food Services (85.4%), and Real Estate, Rental and Leasing (90.2%).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While these industries are more diverse than the Health Care and Social Assistance industry, therein lies an opportunity as they have been hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Laid-off workers may be looking to change careers as a result. In fact, CareerForce has produced &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn-careerforce-prod-files.s3.us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2020-12/Hospitality%20to%20Health%20Care%20Transferable%20Skills_ACC.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;a resource to help that transition from Hospitality careers to those in Health Care by focusing on transferrable skills&lt;/a&gt; between the two industries. Health Care employers may consider recruiting workers from industries highly impacted by layoffs, especially considering those industries may be more diverse and would help to increase the racial diversity of the industry; and jobseekers may look to Health Care for a more stable or rewarding job opportunity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The workforce in Northwest Minnesota is increasingly becoming more diverse and the Health Care and Social Assistance industry has helped to pave the way and will continue to play a significant role in what the future workforce looks like.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>464122</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:17Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Healthy Outlook</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Healthy Outlook</Title><title>2021-01-07 Healthy ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-462011&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2021-01-07T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Health Care and Social Assistance has become even more important to Northwest Minnesota’s economy during the coronavirus pandemic, providing critical services to the region’s population.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Health Care and Social Assistance has become even more important to Northwest Minnesota’s economy during the coronavirus pandemic, providing critical services to the region’s population. As seen on the infographic, with an annual average of more than 39,000 jobs in 2019, Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest employing industry in Northwest Minnesota, accounting for 17.6% of total jobs. The Health Care industry added more than 10,000 jobs over the past 20 years, accounting for almost half of the region’s job growth since 2000. The number of health care jobs in the region is projected to grow 10.8% or 4,115 jobs between 2018 and 2028.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to DEED’s newly released 2018-2028 Employment Outlook, Health Care and Social Assistance is again projected to provide nearly half of the region’s job growth. This includes rapid growth at Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories, Outpatient Care Centers, Home Health Care Services, Community Care Facilities for the Elderly, and Offices of Other Health Practitioners; as well as large numbers of new jobs at Hospitals, Individual and Family Services, and Offices of Physicians. Only two subsectors are expected to see job declines: Nursing Care Facilities and Vocational Rehabilitation Services (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Industry Employment Projections, 2018-2028&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NAICS Code&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Industry&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Estimated Employment 2018&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Projected Employment 2028&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Percent Change 2018 - 2028&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Numeric Change
&lt;br /&gt;
2018 - 2028&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;0&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;263,134&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;271,445&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8,311&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;62&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Health Care &amp;amp; Social Assistance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;38,050&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;42,165&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4,115&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;621&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;  Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;7,951&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;9,695&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+21.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1,744&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6211&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Offices of Physicians&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2,732&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;3,169&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+16.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+437&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6212&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Offices of Dentists&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1,368&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1,477&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+109&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6213&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Offices of Other Health Practitioners&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1,603&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2,001&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+24.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+398&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6214&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Outpatient Care Centers&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;575&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;855&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+48.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+280&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6215&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Medical &amp;amp; Diagnostic Laboratories&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;51&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;76&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+49.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+25&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6216&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Home Health Care Services&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1,063&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1,480&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+39.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+417&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6219&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Other Ambulatory Health Care Services&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;559&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;637&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+14.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+78&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;622&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;  Hospitals&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;12,199&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;13,186&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+987&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;622&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    State Hospital Employment&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;476&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;484&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;622&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Local Hospital Employment&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1,895&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1,950&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+55&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;622&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Private Hospital Employment&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;9,828&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;10,752&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+924&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;623&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;  Nursing &amp;amp; Residential Care Facilities&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;11,622&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;12,326&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+704&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6231&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Nursing Care Facilities&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6,084&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;5,880&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;-3.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;-204&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6232&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Residential Mental Health Facilities&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2,694&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2,975&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+281&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6233&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Community Care Facility for the Elderly&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2,167&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2,747&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+26.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+580&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6239&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Other Residential Care Facilities&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;677&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;724&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+6.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+47&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;624&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;  Social Assistance&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6,278&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6,958&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+680&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6241&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Individual &amp;amp; Family Services&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;4,590&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;5,395&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+17.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+805&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6242&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Emergency &amp;amp; Other Relief Services&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;216&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;261&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+20.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+45&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6243&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Vocational Rehabilitation Services&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;858&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;638&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;-25.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;-220&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;6244&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    Child Day Care Services&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;614&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;664&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;+50&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Employment Outlook&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This means that many health care-related occupations are both in demand now, and should remain that way into the future. DEED’s newly released &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand&lt;/a&gt; tool shows that there are 25 health care-related occupations near the top of the list in Northwest Minnesota. Jobseekers looking to get into the health care field will find a wide variety of opportunities with a range of typical educational requirements. Several of the jobs hiring now can be started with a high school diploma and some on the-job training, while others require vocational training, associate’s degree, or a graduate or professional degree (see Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2. Top 25 Health care-related Occupations in Demand in Northwest Minnesota, 2020&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;SOC Code&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Job Title&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Current Demand Rank&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Median Annual Wage&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;em&gt;Projected Growth Rate,&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;2018-2028&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;em&gt;Projected Openings, 2018-2028&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Typical Education Requirements&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291141&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Registered Nurses&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;1&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$70,869&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10.0%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,199&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Associate&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;311120&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Home Health &amp;amp; Personal Care Aides&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;3&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$27,537&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+18.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+10,058&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;High school diploma or equiv.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;311131&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Nursing Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;4&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$33,192&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4,690&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Vocational training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;292052&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Pharmacy Technicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;8&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$35,018&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.8%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+634&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;High school diploma or equiv.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;292061&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Licensed Practical &amp;amp; Voc. Nurses&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;9&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$44,853&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+2,030&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Vocational training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;292056&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Veterinary Technologists &amp;amp; Techs.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$35,815&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;NA&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Associate&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291216&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Internal Medicine Physicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;28&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;NA&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;NA&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;319097&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Phlebotomists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;30&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$30,046&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+13.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+183&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;High school diploma or equiv.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291171&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Nurse Practitioners&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;36&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$117,222&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+18.6%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+136&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;211015&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Rehabilitation Counselors&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;39&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$34,434&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;-6.7%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+318&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;292055&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Surgical Technologists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;40&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$50,177&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+14.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+170&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Associate&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;319091&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Dental Assistants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;42&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$44,363&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+7.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+678&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Vocational training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291248&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;46&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;NA&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;NA&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291221&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Pediatricians, General&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;47&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$208,174&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;NA&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;292053&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Psychiatric Technicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;57&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$29,437&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;NA&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;High school diploma or equiv.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;193031&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Clinical, Counseling, &amp;amp; School Psychologists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;58&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$76,589&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+4.5%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+169&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;211094&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Community Health Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;65&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$31,968&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+13.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+199&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;High school diploma or equiv.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;195011&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Occupational Health &amp;amp; Safety Specialists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;67&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$71,462&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.3%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+72&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Bachelor&apos;s degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291151&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Nurse Anesthetists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;73&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$207,628&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+8.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+50&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291223&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Psychiatrists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;76&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;NA&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;NA&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291215&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Family Medicine Physicians&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;78&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;NA&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+9.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+29&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;292040&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Emergency Medical Technicians &amp;amp; Paramedics&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;79&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$35,744&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+5.9%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+555&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Vocational training&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291127&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Speech-Language Pathologists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;82&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$65,757&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+23.2%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+222&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;291051&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Pharmacists&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;88&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$132,585&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.1%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+250&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Graduate/professional degree&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;399011&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Childcare Workers&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: center; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;90&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;$24,209&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+1.4%&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;+3,917&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: left; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;High school diploma or equiv.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot; colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source: DEED Occupations in Demand&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/industry/health-care&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED and its partners in CareerForce are mobilizing resources&lt;/a&gt; to help laid off workers move into these high-demand health care occupations, all of which are also projected to have future demand as well. For more information, reach out to your &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/locations&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;local CareerForce location&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/northwest-health-care-2020_tcm1045-462207.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Minnesota Health Care Highlights&quot; alt=&quot;Minnesota Health Care Highlights&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;northwest-health-care-2020&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>462011</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:17Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Staying Strong in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Staying Strong in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2020-12-04 Strong ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-457365&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-12-04T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>During the second quarter of 2020, employers in Northwest Minnesota reported a total of 12,180 job vacancies, down 6.5% from the previous year.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;During the second quarter of 2020, employers in Northwest Minnesota reported a total of &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;12,180 job vacancies&lt;/a&gt;, down 6.5% from the previous year. Due to economic changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, this is the first survey period since 2017 when there are more unemployed workers than job vacancies (see Figure 1). However, Northwest Minnesota saw the smallest year-over-year decline of the 6 planning regions in the state. Statewide, vacancies dropped nearly 25% compared to the second quarter of 2019.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/112320_nw_figure1_tcm1045-457381.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job seekers per vacancy 2009-2020&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job seekers per vacancy 2009-2020&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;112320_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite the pandemic-related restrictions that initially impacted &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/041020_WDB2_retail_tcm1045-429996.pdf&quot;&gt;Retail Trade&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/031720_WDB2_leisure__tcm1045-429974.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Accommodation and Food Services&lt;/a&gt;, and Health Care and Social Assistance, those three industries actually saw an increase in job vacancies in the second quarter of 2020. In 2019, they combined for just over 7,800 job openings, or 60% of the 13,020 total vacancies in the region. This summer, the big three reported just over 8,050 job postings, now accounting for two-thirds of the openings (see Figure 2.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/112320_nw_figure2_tcm1045-457380.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancies by Industry Quarter 2 2020&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancies by Industry Quarter 2 2020&quot; style=&quot;width: 50%;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;112320_nw_figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Vacancies were also up in the region for Educational Services, Public Administration, and Transportation and Warehousing. In contrast, the number of openings dropped precipitously for Northwest Minnesota&apos;s distinguishing industries including &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/2019_Northwest_MFG_Profile_tcm1045-430010.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/a&gt;, Wholesale Trade, Administrative Support and Waste Management, and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting. Combined, those four industries reported nearly 1,100 fewer postings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;After climbing 5.0% to nearly $15.00 per hour, the median wage offer provides more good news for job seekers in Northwest. Wage offers were higher in 11 of 20 industries, with important increases seen in the three industries with the most openings. Though still one of the lowest paying industries, wage offers were up 12% in Accommodation and Food Services to almost $14 per hour, the highest on record. Similarly, wage offers climbed to $13.86 in Arts, Entertainment &amp;amp; Recreation, and to $13.50 in Retail Trade, up just over $1 compared to 2019.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>457365</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:17Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Honoring Veterans in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Honoring Veterans in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2020-11-05 Veterans ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-452578&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-11-05T15:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, &quot;World War II was the most widespread war in history with more than 100 million people serving in military units.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.benefits.va.gov/persona/veteran-world_war_II.asp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs&lt;/a&gt;, &quot;World War II was the most widespread war in history with more than 100 million people serving in military units. About 16 million Americans served during WWII, and many of those veterans are now receiving VA benefits including pension and health care.&quot; At this point, most living veterans from WWII are in their 90s and older.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A recent article from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/05/08/on-75th-anniversary-of-v-e-day-about-300000-american-wwii-veterans-are-alive/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Pew Research Center&lt;/a&gt; suggests there are about 300,000 WWII veterans still living, including about 16,250 WWII veterans in Minnesota, and 1,775 who reside in Northwest Minnesota. These veterans lived through both the Great Depression and WWII, earning the title of the &quot;Greatest Generation.&quot; Though every year there are fewer WWII veterans in the population, they deserve honor and appreciation for the sacrifices they made for our country.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/102120_nw_figure1_tcm1045-452583.png&quot; title=&quot;Period of Service for Veterans in Northwest Minnesota 2018&quot; alt=&quot;Period of Service for Veterans in Northwest Minnesota 2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 70%;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;102120_nw_figure1&quot; /&gt;Including WWII vets, there were over 35,500 veterans living in Northwest Minnesota in 2018, according to the Census Bureau. The largest group of veterans in the region were from the Vietnam era, representing over 15,000 residents, with another 4,000 veterans from the Korean War era. Northwest Minnesota is home to about 10% of the state&apos;s veterans, though it has a higher share of veterans from the Vietnam and Korean wars, reflecting the region&apos;s aging population. In sum, there were an estimated 21,450 veterans in Northwest Minnesota that are 65 years and older in 2018.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Nearly 4,400 veterans in the region served during the first Gulf War, and another 4,000 have served from 2001 and on. More than 6,250 served in other periods.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;There were just over 14,000 veterans between 18 and 64 years of age in Northwest Minnesota in 2018. Nearly 11,000 of these veterans were participating in the labor force, bringing a wide variety of skills capabilities to employers in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED offers &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/veterans-resources&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;resources&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/dedicated-veterans-employment-team&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;representatives&lt;/a&gt; through CareerForce to provide priority services for former military members. This includes help with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/veterans-resources&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;setting career goals, pursuing education, or finding a job&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/dedicated-veterans-employment-team&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;, there are two great contacts to help veterans with employment:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;North Central Minnesota: &lt;strong&gt;Jane Kerntz&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Email: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/jane.kerntz@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;jane.kerntz@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Office: &lt;a href=&quot;tel:218-231-8587&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;218-231-8587&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cell: &lt;a href=&quot;tel:218-422-5395&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;218-422-5395&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota: &lt;strong&gt;LaDeen Schillinger&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Email: &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:ladeen.schillinger@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;ladeen.schillinger@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Office: &lt;a href=&quot;tel:320-391-9278&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;320-391-9278&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cell: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/320-406-8294&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;320-406-8294&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Veterans, active duty military service members and their spouses are also invited to participate in this year&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/minnesota-veterans-virtual-career-fair&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Virtual Veterans Career Fair taking place on November 19&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>452578</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:16Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Manufacturing through the Pandemic in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Manufacturing through the Pandemic in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2020-10-07 Manufacturing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-449383&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-10-07T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Manufacturing is the second-largest employing industry in Northwest Minnesota, behind only Health Care and Social Assistance, with nearly 30,000 employees at 827 firms.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturing is the second-largest employing industry in Northwest Minnesota, behind only Health Care and Social Assistance, with nearly 30,000 employees at 827 firms. Not only is the industry growing, but the average annual wages in 2019 exceeded the regional average by more than $11,000 (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The largest sectors include Food, Transportation Equipment, Fabricated Metal Products, Machinery, and Wood Products Manufacturing, with over 3,000 jobs each. Subsectors that experienced the most growth in the past five years include Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing (212.2%), Chemical Manufacturing (59.7%) and Miscellaneous Manufacturing (42.6%) (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;10&quot;&gt;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Statistics&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;2019 Annual Data&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2018-2019 Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2014-2019 Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;NAICS Code&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Industry Title&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Firms&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Total Wages&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Average Annual Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Total, All Industries&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;17,126&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;223,205&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$9,312,717,743&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$41,704&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+512&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+0.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+6,811&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+3.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;31&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;827&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;29,473&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$1,553,201,915&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$52,728&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+303&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+933&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+3.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;311&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Food Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;89&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;5,917&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$311,074,297&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$52,520&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-25&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-0.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+195&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;336&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Transportation Equip. Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;4,337&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$241,934,078&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$55,848&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+251&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+6.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-516&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-10.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;332&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Fabricated Metal Product Mfg.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;161&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;4,162&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$203,866,929&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$48,984&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+121&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+49&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;333&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Machinery Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;97&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;3,984&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$242,160,116&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$60,788&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+103&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+2.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+636&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+19.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;321&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Wood Product Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;73&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;3,407&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$183,799,920&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$53,976&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-115&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-3.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-106&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-3.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;323&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Printing &amp;amp; Related Support Activities&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;52&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1,262&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$58,541,856&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$46,696&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-46&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-3.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-128&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-9.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;327&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Nonmetallic Mineral Product Mfg.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;968&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$58,763,615&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$60,736&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-22&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-2.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+110&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+12.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;334&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Computer &amp;amp; Electronic Product Mfg.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;949&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$56,152,579&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$59,176&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+2&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+0.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+18&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+1.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;326&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Plastics &amp;amp; Rubber Products Mfg.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;29&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;922&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$39,775,485&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$43,108&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-5&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-0.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+54&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+6.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;339&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Miscellaneous Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;87&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;834&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$33,870,612&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$40,560&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+17&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+2.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+249&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+42.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;331&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Primary Metal Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;6&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;648&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$34,890,480&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$53,976&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-1.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-37&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-5.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;337&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Furniture &amp;amp; Related Product Mfg.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;60&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;643&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$28,308,651&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$44,044&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-6&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-0.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+43&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+7.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;325&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Chemical Manufacturing&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;12&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;412&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$25,058,559&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$60,632&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+8&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+154&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+59.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;314&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Textile Product Mills&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;18&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;392&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$11,617,476&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$29,640&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-18&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-4.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-63&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-13.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;312&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Beverage &amp;amp; Tobacco Product Mfg.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;20&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;256&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$5,987,592&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$23,244&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+33&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+14.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+174&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+212.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;335&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Electrical Equip., Appliance, &amp;amp; Comp.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;5&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;135&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$6,650,130&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$48,984&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+9&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+7.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;N/A&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;N/A&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;10&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Within the Northwest planning region, Economic Development Region 1 (EDR 1) has the greatest reliance on Manufacturing jobs, with a location quotient of 1.77 – meaning Manufacturing employment is nearly twice as concentrated in the region as in the rest of the state. EDR 4 - West Central had 13,116 Manufacturing employees, the most of any EDR in Northwest Minnesota, and a location quotient of 1.29 also indicating more concentration than that at the state level.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In contrast, with around 2,500 jobs, EDR 2 - Headwaters had the smallest amount of employment in Manufacturing. However, the region has seen jobs in the industry increase by 116 jobs in the past five years, a 4.8% expansion. Interestingly, despite having the highest concentration, manufacturing jobs dropped 10% in EDR-1 Northwest over the past five years, while the other EDRs all saw gains (Table 2)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;10&quot;&gt;Table 2. Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Statistics&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;2019 Annual Data&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Avg Annual Wage&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2018-2019 Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;2014-2019 Change&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th rowspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Location Quotient&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt; &lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Firms&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number of Jobs&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Total Wages&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Number&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;827&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;29,473&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$1,553,201,915&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$52,728&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+303&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+1.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+933&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+3.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1.18&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;EDR 1 - Northwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;120&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;7,209&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$406,486,392&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$56,472&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+149&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+2.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-821&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-10.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1.77&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;EDR 2 - Headwaters&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;78&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;2,532&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$130,831,318&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$51,688&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-27&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;-1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+116&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+4.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;0.70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;EDR 4 - West Central&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;341&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;13,116&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$701,627,160&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$53,508&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+171&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+1.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+1,063&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;8.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1.29&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;EDR 5 - North Central&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;288&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;6,616&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$314,257,045&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$47,476&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+11&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+0.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+576&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+9.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;0.94&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;8,261&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;323,954&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$22,054,885,371&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;$68,068&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+2,054&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+0.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+12,128&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;+3.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1.00&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;10&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Source: DEED&apos;s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given the high level of manufacturing employment in EDR 1, it&apos;s understandable that the industry and region was hit hard during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/ui-statistics.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Unemployment Insurance Statistics&lt;/a&gt; shows that continued Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims rose steadily in March, and those from Manufacturing accounted for approximately one-third of all claims through May. Continued claims are the weekly request for benefits that unemployed workers make following their initial application. Across Minnesota, the share hovered around 10% from mid-February to the beginning of September, with one notable dip early on (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091720-nw-figure1_tcm1045-449382.png&quot; title=&quot;2020 Share of Continued UI Claims in Manufacturing&quot; alt=&quot;2020 Share of Continued UI Claims in Manufacturing&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091720-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, there are indications in the data from mid-July onward that manufacturing is rebounding, as the share of continued UI claims for the industry has dropped to pre-COVID levels. The share of claims refers to the percent of total continued UI claims attributed to Manufacturing in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The turnaround indicates that a number of employers in Northwest Minnesota took measures to protect and maintain their workers. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.marvin.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Marvin&lt;/a&gt;, a window and door manufacturer based in Warroad, recognized the need to keep as many workers as possible despite the challenges COVID-19 has presented to workplace health and safety.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Although they furloughed most of their workforce early on, Marvin worked to reassure employees the move was only temporary and sought to avoid any permanent layoffs. &quot;Our leadership made communication with our workforce a top priority while we worked through how to operate during the pandemic,&quot; said Eric Rasmussen, senior manager for talent acquisition. &quot;We always want to avoid layoffs, but also try to provide financial security for our employees during difficult times. Furloughed workers could access the expanded unemployment assistance, and still had access to our health care insurance.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It appears this approach paid off for many employers in the region. By mid-July, the share of continued unemployment claims from manufacturing dropped off significantly. When applicants stop requesting a weekly benefit payment, there&apos;s a good chance they returned to a job. Or, &lt;a href=&quot;https://tcbmag.com/marvins-ceo-avoids-layoffs-despite-sales-downturn/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;as in the case with Marvin and others, the employee returned to work after a temporary furlough&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to utilizing Minnesota&apos;s UI program, regional employers deployed other layoff aversion strategies during the onset of COVID-19. Some cut hours across the board, or reduced retirement contributions for a period of time. Others used a combination of both tactics. Employees whose hours were cut in half or more were eligible for partial unemployment benefits, while their relationship with their employer remained intact.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Unfortunately, some layoffs were unavoidable. The good news is there are several manufacturers in Northwest Minnesota who are hiring again. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/jobs-demand-during-covid-19&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED has made a concerted effort to share which occupations are still in demand&lt;/a&gt;, including several production-related occupations. Many of those who were laid off also qualify for Dislocated Worker assistance, or other training grant programs &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/social-media/deed-developments/#/detail/appId/1/id/444272&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;which can provide financial support to develop new job skills or cover transportation costs to a new employer&lt;/a&gt;. With the support of both public agencies and private industry, Minnesotans are getting back to work. And in Northwest Minnesota, Manufacturing is leading the way.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/2020-northwest_tcm1045-449273.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Highlights&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Highlights&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;2020-northwest&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>449383</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:15Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Rooted in Economic Disparities</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Rooted in Economic Disparities</Title><title>2020-09-09 Rooted ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-445911&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-09-09T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Let’s go back before COVID-19 impacted our economy and acknowledge the persistent employment disparities that exist for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in the Northwest region.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Let&apos;s go back before COVID-19 impacted our economy and acknowledge the persistent employment disparities that exist for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in the Northwest region. Following a decade of employment growth after the last recession, unemployment rates were still about three times higher for Blacks and five times greater for American Indians than for whites in the region, echoing statewide trends.  And now, as the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the regional economy, early indicators suggest that the BIPOC community is at risk of even more serious economic impact.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In 2018, the unemployment rate for workers who identified as white alone in Northwest Minnesota was 3.3%, while the rates for all other racial categories were higher, except for Asian or Other Pacific Islanders at 2.0%.  Even after a decade of economic recovery, the unemployment rate for American Indians was at 16.5%, and the rate for Blacks stood at 9.6%, while 7.6% of workers of Two or More Races were unemployed.  Of the nearly 7,500 Hispanic or Latino workers in the region, the unemployment rate was 5.6%, despite a labor force participation rate that was nearly 75% (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;6&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Table 1.  Employment Characteristics by Race &amp;amp; Hispanic Origin, 2018&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td rowspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Number In Labor Force (Workers)&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Labor Force Partic. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Unemp. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Labor Force Partic. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Unemp. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Total Labor Force&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;286,556&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;64.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;3.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;69.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;3.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;White alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;266,966&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;64.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;3.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;69.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;3.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Black or African American&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;2,711&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;62.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;9.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;70.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;9.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;American Indian &amp;amp; Alaska Native&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;8,841&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;58.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;16.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;58.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;12.8%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Asian or Other Pac. Islanders&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;2,152&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;65.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;2.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;71.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;4.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Some Other Race&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;1,496&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;67.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;6.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;77.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;6.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Two or More Races&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;4,350&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;65.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;7.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;73.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;7.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Hispanic or Latino&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;7,496&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;74.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;5.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;76.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;6.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top; text-align: right;&quot; class=&quot;&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml?refresh=t&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Source: 2014-2018 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;One way of understanding COVID-19&apos;s impact on the regional economy is through &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/ui-statistics.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Statistics&lt;/a&gt;, which are updated monthly. The data tool provides demographic details that allow us to compare the racial make-up of UI claims to the number of jobs in the economy that BIPOC workers hold in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Staggeringly, American Indians constitute 8.3% of regular continued claims despite being just 3.4% of the total workforce in the region, illustrating the impacts that COVID-19 has had on the hospitality and gambling industries that are central to American Indian communities.  Unfortunately, the racial disparities also stand out for other race groups. Blacks had 2.5% of July&apos;s UI claims while only representing 1.6% of the total workforce in the region. While more than 14,000 of the 17,223 continuing claims were filed by whites, that represented 81.5% of total claims, even though whites accounted for more than 90% of workers in the region (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Table 2.  Northwest Minnesota Racial Make-Up of Jobs and UI Claims&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt; &lt;/td&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent of Total Employment, 2019&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Percent of Regular Continued Claims in July 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;White Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;92.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;81.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Black or African American Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;2.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;American Indian or Alaska Native Alone&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;3.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;8.3%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Asian Alone or Other Pacific Islander&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1.1%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Two or More Race Groups&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;1.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;N/A&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Race Unknown&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;N/A&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;6.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;3&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Source:  &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/ui-statistics.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Unemployment Insurance Statistics&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://qwiexplorer.ces.census.gov/static/explore.html#x=0&amp;amp;g=0&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Workforce Indicators&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the economy, it&apos;s important to acknowledge and understand the economic disparities that existed prior, and that continue to remain, to ensure that the recovery also reaches those most impacted.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>445911</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:13Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>PPP Funding in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>PPP Funding in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2020-08-03 Funding ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-442584&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-08-03T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Newly released data show that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) helped retain more than 100,000 jobs in Northwest Minnesota, nearly half of total employment in the region.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Newly released data show that the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Paycheck Protection Program&lt;/a&gt; (PPP) helped retain more than 100,000 jobs in Northwest Minnesota, nearly half of total employment in the region. At least in the short-term, PPP kept these workers on the payroll and provided relief to businesses. Long-term effects will have to be measured down the road, but the immediate boost was very apparent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The PPP was created by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to provide loans to help businesses with 500 employees or less keep their workers on the payroll.  Enacted under the federal &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.investopedia.com/coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act-4800707&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;CARES Act&lt;/a&gt; and administered through the U.S Small Business Administration (SBA), these loans are eligible for forgiveness if employee retention criteria are met and the funds are used for eligible expenses. Data has been released on nearly five million PPP loans made to businesses and non-profits throughout the United States and this month&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Local Look&lt;/a&gt; analyzes the loans that went to Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to SBA data, there were 12,401 PPP loans issued in the 26-county Northwest Minnesota planning region, and these loans helped retain about 103,000 jobs, or just over 46% of total employment in the region.  Loan amounts varied greatly, ranging from less than $1,000 to more than $5 million, but the majority of loans issued were for less than $50,000.  So far, 76.6% of PPP loans in Northwest Minnesota were for less than $50,000 but there were also nearly 100 loans secured for more than $1 million (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Table 1.  Number of PPP Loans by Loan Amount in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Loan Amount&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Number of Loans&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;Up to $10,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;3,797&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$10,001-$20,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;2,566&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$20,001-$30,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;1,626&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$30,001-$40,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;868&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$40,001-$50,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;642&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$50,001-$75,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;896&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$75,001-$100,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;503&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$100,001-$125,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;301&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$125,001-$149,999&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;208&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$150,000-$350,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;610&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$350,001-$1 million&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;288&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$1 million-$2 million&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;56&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$2 million-$5 million&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;30&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;$5 million-$10 million&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source:  US Small Business Administration&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianthompson1/2020/05/12/getting-help-for-minority-owned-businesses-shut-out-of-ppp-loan-relief/#7714c990be6d&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;One concern&lt;/a&gt; of the PPP program at the national level is that the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community would be left out because the application process relied on banking institution relationships, especially when banks were initially inundated with loan applications.  The SBA data does have demographic variables including race, gender, and veteran status and analysis shows the concern may be warranted in Northwest Minnesota.  There were only three loans for more than $150,000 that went to self-identified Black or African American, Asian American, or American Indian recipients.  Of the loans made for up to $150,000, just seven went to Black or African American-owned businesses, 38  went to Asian American-owned, 13 to American Indian-owned, and 24 went to Hispanic or Latino-owned businesses.  While that data is helpful, it should be noted that about two-thirds of the PPP applications in Northwest Minnesota left the race or ethnicity question unanswered; so the exact demographic breakout of loan recipients is unknown.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Funding for the PPP program is still available as of middle July and applications are being accepted until August 8, 2020.  For those interested,  &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;check here&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>442584</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:12Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Who&apos;s been impacted in Northwest?</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Who&apos;s been impacted in Northwest?</Title><title>2020-07-07 Impact ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-439322&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-07-07T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DEED began publishing daily updates to Unemployment Insurance (UI) statistics, including the number of new applicants and re-activations.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DEED began publishing daily updates to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/ui-statistics.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Unemployment Insurance (UI) statistics&lt;/a&gt;, including the number of new applicants and re-activations. This information, which includes demographic, geographic and industry information for the applicants, gives context on who has had their employment impacted by the response to COVID-19. This information can be used by policymakers, industry groups, employers and journalists.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota, like the state and nation, experienced a sharp increase in UI applications at the start of the pandemic response, with over 10,000 regional residents applying in both the last week of March and the first week of April. Those were historically high numbers Since the initial layoffs, the number of UI applications dropped every week until the week of June 6 (the last week of data available at the time of this writing), when applications climbed to 2,050 from 1,604, a 27.8% increase. The trend line going forward will be an important indicator of the economy, whether UI applications either continue to increase or decrease. An increase in the future would suggest that the economy is struggling with returning laid-off workers back to their jobs, suggesting long-term effects of the initial response to the pandemic or even delayed impacts as industries struggle to maintain similar demand for products and services (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/062620-nw-figure1_tcm1045-439325.png&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1: Timeline of UI Applications in Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1: Timeline of UI Applications in Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;062620-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The timing of the UI claims is important but so is the industry of the person applying. One way of determining impact on a particular industry is to compare the number of initial UI claims submitted to the total employment within the sector. The most impacted sector so far was information, where 53% of the sector&apos;s total employment in the region filed for unemployment insurance. Arts, entertainment, and recreation also had over 50% of employment laid off at one point during the pandemic. Another industry that was hit hard was other services, which includes personal care services like barbers and hair stylists.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;At the other end of the spectrum, several industries were less affected by responses to COVID-19. For example, only 3.6% of total workers in the utilities industry submitted initial claims for UI. Likewise, UI claims accounted for less than 10% of employment in the following industries: finance and insurance, educational services, and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting. Overall, cumulative UI applications represented 21.8% of all employment in the Northwest region from March through May, but not every industry was impacted equally by the response to the pandemic, so far (see Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/062620-nw-figure2_tcm1045-439324.png&quot; title=&quot;Figure 2: Initial and Recurring Unemployment Insurance Claims from March-May 2020&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 2: Initial and Recurring Unemployment Insurance Claims from March-May 2020&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;062620-nw-figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>439322</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:11Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Unemployment Rates on the Rise</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Unemployment Rates on the Rise</Title><title>2020-06-22 Rate on Rise ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-437310&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-06-22T14:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>The first impacts of COVID-19 on the regional economy are evident in the release of April’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS).</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The first impacts of COVID-19 on the regional economy are evident in the release of April&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/laus/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)&lt;/a&gt;.  Unemployment rates have jumped for the nation, state, region and local counties compared to March&apos;s readings, especially in Northwest Minnesota. This reflects the rapid increase in the number of &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/unemployment-insurance-statistics/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Unemployment Insurance (UI) applications&lt;/a&gt; in response to the measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19, which had a significant impact on  prominent regional industries like leisure and hospitality.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Minnesota&apos;s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumped from 3.5% in March to 8.6% in April, with 262,518 people unemployed. Statewide, this is the highest unemployment rate recorded since 1983.  Northwest Minnesota had an unemployment rate of 8.7%, based on 26,111 people unemployed.  The economic development regions in Northwest had unemployment rates ranging from 7.2% in West Central to 10.4% in the Headwaters. Meanwhile, EDR 1-Northwest had fewer than 4,000 unemployed workers, compared to 9,154 unemployed in EDR 4-West Central and 8,556 in EDR 5-North Central (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th colspan=&quot;4&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;April 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;March 2020&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Area&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Total Labor Force&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Employed Workers&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Unemployed Workers&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Unemp. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot; class=&quot;&quot;&gt;Unemp. Rate&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;U S&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;155,830,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;133,326,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;22,504,000&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;14.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;4.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;3,052,783&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;2,790,265&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;262,518&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;8.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;3.5%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;300,816&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;274,705&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;26,111&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;8.7%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;4.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;  EDR 1 - Northwest&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;46,206&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;42,342&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;3,864&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;8.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;5.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;  EDR 2 - Headwaters&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;43,560&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;39,023&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;4,537&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;10.4%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;5.6%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;  EDR 4 - West Central&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;127,088&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;117,934&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;9,154&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;7.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;4.0%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;  EDR 5 - North Central&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;83,962&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;75,406&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;8,556&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;10.2%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;5.9%&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot; style=&quot;text-align: right; vertical-align: top;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Source:  DEED&apos;s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking at unemployment rates by county in Northwest Minnesota, the wide spread between rates of unemployment become apparent. Stevens County, located in West Central, reported an unemployment rate of just 3.8%, while Mahnomen County jumped to 17.4%, the highest county unemployment rate in the state. The temporary closing of the casino in Mahnomen County had a major impact on UI applications, whereas counties that are more agriculture-dependent saw a less drastic impact on the local economy. Other counties that saw unemployment rates rise above 10% include Clearwater, Cass, Wadena, Crow Wing and Hubbard, all places with stronger concentrations of food service and retail (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/052820-nw-figure1_tcm1045-437337.png&quot; title=&quot;April 2020 Unemployment Rates, Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;April 2020 Unemployment Rates, Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 75%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;052820-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It should be noted that the unemployment rate does not reflect a count of people collecting UI benefits.  &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/unemployment-insurance-statistics/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;View UI Statistics&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>437310</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:09Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Slowing the Spread in Northwest Minnesota</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Slowing the Spread in Northwest Minnesota</Title><title>2020-05-05 Slowing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-430831&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-05-05T21:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Through April 25, about 46,000 applications for Unemployment Insurance (UI) had been filed by residents of Northwest Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Through April 25, about 46,000 applications for Unemployment Insurance (UI) had been filed by residents of Northwest Minnesota. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is a lot. For perspective, in the entire year of 2019, the region saw a total of just 22,820 UI claims. In 2009, during the peak of the Great Recession, the region suffered 49,841 UI claims for the year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/careerforce-blog/slowing-spread-northwest-minnesota&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Continue reading Slowing the Spread in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>430831</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:09Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Young Veterans Strengthen Local Workforce </Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>The Gig Economy: Nonemployer Statistics</Title><title>2020-02-28 Gig ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-421680&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-02-28T22:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>An important contributor to the regional economy that isn’t covered by the QCEW data program is that of nonemployers.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;An important contributor to the regional economy that isn’t covered by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data program is that of nonemployers, defined by the Census Bureau as “businesses without paid employees that are subject to federal income tax, originating from tax return information of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).” Sometimes referred to as independent contractors or freelancers, much has been written about this type of workers as this type of economy continues to grow nationally and regulation issues arise. With data from the Census Bureau’s Nonemployer Statistics, we can analyze the trend of nonemployers in Northwest Minnesota and measure their impact on the regional economy with sales receipts.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/careerforce-blog/gig-economy-nonemployer-statistics&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Continue reading The Gig Economy: Nonemployer Statistics&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>421680</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:07Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Young Veterans Strengthen Local Workforce </Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Minnesota Job Growth: Trends Through 2026</Title><title>2020-01-30 Trends ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-418163&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2020-01-30T22:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Northwest Minnesota is projected to attain 4.2 percent job growth between 2016 and 2026.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota is projected to attain 4.2 percent job growth between 2016 and 2026. That places Northwest in the middle of the pack for planning regions in terms of regional employment growth, well ahead of slower-growing regions like Southwest and Northeast, but well behind fast-growing regions like the 7-county Twin Cities metro area and Central Minnesota. Overall state employment during this time period is projected to grow 5.9 percent, while projected U.S. growth rate was 7.4% for 2016-2026.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/careerforce-blog/northwest-minnesota-job-growth-trends-through-2026&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Continue reading Northwest Minnesota Job Growth: Trends Through 2026&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White</Author><id>418163</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:07Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Young Veterans Strengthen Local Workforce </Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>New Americans and the Labor Force</Title><title>2019-12-16 New ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-415446&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-12-16T22:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Throughout its history, Leading CareerForce partner RMCEP has assisted thousands of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds acquire the skills and training necessary to thrive in the regional economy and elsewhere. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Throughout its history, Leading CareerForce partner Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program (RMCEP) has assisted thousands of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds acquire the skills and training necessary to thrive in the regional economy and elsewhere.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.careerforcemn.com/careerforce-blog/new-americans-and-labor-force&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Continue reading New Americans and the Labor Force&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>415446</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:03Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Young Veterans Strengthen Local Workforce </Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Young Veterans Strengthen Local Workforce </Title><title>2019-11-08 Young Veterans Strengthen Local Workforce ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-409889&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-11-08T22:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>While veterans from the Vietnam era are retiring, younger veterans are now lending their expertise and leadership to the regional economy. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In appreciation of those who served our military and their families, this month’s Local Look will focus on veterans in the region. According to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;American Community Survey&lt;/a&gt;, there are 42,099 veterans in the 26-county Northwest Minnesota planning region, which was 13.2 percent of all the veterans in the state. There is a greater concentration of veterans in the region with 9.8 percent of the region’s population 18 years and older being a veteran, compared to just 7.6 percent of the state’s population. Home to &lt;a href=&quot;https://minnesotanationalguard.ng.mil/crtc/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Camp Ripley&lt;/a&gt;, a military and civilian training facility operated by the Minnesota Nation Guard, EDR 5-North Central has the greatest concentration of veterans in the Northwest planning region with 11.1 percent of its civilian population being a veteran.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Veterans with service during the Vietnam era make up about 40 percent of all veterans in Northwest Minnesota, similar to statewide numbers. In addition, there were roughly 9,500 veterans in Northwest Minnesota with service time during the Gulf War eras, a time frame that extends back to 1990 and goes to present day. This cohort exceeds the number of veterans from the Korean War and World War II in the region (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/110719-nw-table1_tcm1045-409890.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Number of Veterans and Period of Service, Northwest Minnesota, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Table 1. Number of Veterans and Period of Service, Northwest Minnesota, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;110719-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While veterans from the Vietnam era are retiring out of the workforce, younger veterans are now lending their expertise and leadership to the regional economy. Those who choose to serve in the military after high school often find themselves on a different path than their classmates. For example, after serving four years in the Army, Mike Eschenbacher returned to civilian life in Brainerd, his hometown. Zack Winger, a classmate of Mike’s at Brainerd High School, chose to stay in Brainerd while serving as a member of the &lt;a href=&quot;https://minnesotanationalguard.ng.mil/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota National Guard&lt;/a&gt;. Both have become valuable parts of the local workforce and represent others like them who prioritize military service early in their careers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In 2019, Mike and Zach were both hired by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/fourseasonscarwashbaxter/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Four Seasons Carwash&lt;/a&gt; in Baxter, MN, largely because of the military experience that taught them discipline, teamwork and an array of technical skills. As Operations Manager Derek Parks puts it, “Zach applied for the assistant manager position, and we were surprised by the amount of experience he had at such a young age. Mike applied for a part-time position at first, but his technical skills stood out early, and we promoted him to full-time in a matter of weeks.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/Four%20Seasons%20Car%20Wash_tcm1045-409901.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Left to right: Derek Parks, Operations Manager, Four Seasons Car Wash in Baxter; Dave Nelson, COO and Regional Manager&quot; alt=&quot;Left to right: Derek Parks, Operations Manager, Four Seasons Car Wash in Baxter; Dave Nelson, COO and Regional Manager&quot; style=&quot;width: 373px; height: 451px;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;Four Seasons Car Wash.jpg&quot; /&gt; Like most employers struggling to find workers, Four Seasons found that hiring veterans was a smart decision. In addition to helping businesses qualify for the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/business/finding-workers/incentives/wotc.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Work Opportunity Tax Credit&lt;/a&gt; and other financial incentives, veterans embody the soft skills that are often difficult for employers to find in young employees, and can be even harder to teach.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With three car washes in Northwest Minnesota, Four Seasons now has veterans working at multiple locations. At the Baxter location in particular, their veteran employees provided much needed stability during the first full summer of operations and are now the bedrock of their workforce. In a business that typically employs young adults and struggles with a high degree of turnover, their presence has had a stabilizing effect. “You can tell they take a lot of pride in their work, and it rubs off on others,” Parks said. “Our young workers pick up on that energy, and it leads to a positive work environment that embraces accountability and keeps our business running smooth.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to employing four veterans in their organization, Four Seasons Carwash is offering a free car wash to all veterans in honor of Veteran’s Day on Monday, November 11.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:erik.white@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Erik White&lt;/a&gt;, Northwest labor market analyst, and &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;, Northwest workforce strategy consultant.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Erik White, Chet Bodin</Author><id>409889</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:03Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Profiling Growth Opportunities</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Profiling Growth Opportunities</Title><title>2019-10-16 Profiling Growth Opportunities ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-407142&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-10-16T21:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Northwest Minnesota grew in employment over the past 15 years, gaining just over 15,000 net new jobs from 2003 to 2018. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Armed with new population estimates, labor force trends, commuting patterns, occupations in demand, and industry employment statistics, DEED’s Regional Analysis &amp;amp; Outreach Unit recently published a fresh regional profile highlighting trends in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/rp_northwest_2019_tcm1045-133256.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Along with population and labor force growth, Northwest Minnesota has been fortunate to experience employment growth over the past 15 years. According to DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages (QCEW) program&lt;/a&gt;, Northwest was home to 17,096 business establishments providing 222,596 covered jobs in 2018, with a total payroll that surpassed $9.0 billion. That was about 7.7 percent of total employment in the state of Minnesota.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota gained just over 15,000 net new jobs from 2003 to 2018. The region grew more slowly than the state prior to the recession but experienced smaller declines during the recession, resulting in a shorter road to recovery. Like the state, the region fully recovered all the jobs lost during the recession by 2013. Then between 2013 and 2018, the region added almost 9,000 jobs, enjoying a 4.1 percent gain, compared to 7.0 percent growth statewide (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/101519-nw-figure1_tcm1045-407143.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Industry Employment Statistics, 2003-2018&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Industry Employment Statistics, 2003-2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;101519-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;br xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; /&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qed/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED’s Quarterly Employment Demographics (QED) program&lt;/a&gt;, while the workforce was growing over the past 10 years, it was also aging. Over one-quarter (25.1%) of workers in the region were 55 years or older, compared to 21.5 percent statewide and just 18.7 percent in the region one decade earlier. In contrast, the percentage of teenaged workers was falling, and while wages were going up for younger workers, the number of hours worked was going down (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt; &lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/101519-nw-table1_tcm1045-407144.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Workforce Demographics by Age Group and Gender, Total of All Industries, 2008-2018&quot; alt=&quot;Table 1. Workforce Demographics by Age Group and Gender, Total of All Industries, 2008-2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;101519-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Wages were climbing across the board for all workers due to rising demand and a tight labor market. While wages were still lowest for the youngest and oldest workers who tend to fill lower-skilled, less than full-time jobs in industries like retail trade and accommodation and food services, these two age groups enjoyed the fastest percentage increase in wages from 2008 to 2018. Wages were highest for workers between 45 and 64 years of age, and males worked more hours than females, though the gap was narrowing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>407142</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:03Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>2019 Manufacturing Highlights</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>2019 Manufacturing Highlights</Title><title>2019-09-10 2019 Manufacturing Highlights ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-402036&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-09-10T17:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Manufacturing is one of the highest paying industries in the region. Wages increased 5.5 percent over the past year, compared to a 3.8 percent wage increase overall from 2017 to 2018. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With 29,165 jobs at 826 establishments, manufacturing is the second largest employing industry in the 26-county Northwest Minnesota planning region, behind health care and social assistance. Manufacturing accounts for 13.1 percent of total employment in Northwest, almost two percent more concentrated than in the state as a whole, where 11.2 percent of total jobs are in manufacturing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/mn-5c-20manufac_7916439%20%281%29_tcm1045-402112.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing 2019&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing 2019&quot; style=&quot;width: 300px; height: 701px;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;2019-northwest&quot; /&gt;Now 10 years after the Great Recession, Northwest Minnesota has enjoyed substantial job growth from 2013 to 2018, adding a total of 8,867 net new jobs – including 1,255 new jobs in the past year – across all industries. The manufacturing industry gained 1,067 jobs since 2013, making it one of five regional industries to net over 1,000 new jobs over the past five years, accounting for one in every 8 jobs added in the region during that time. After losing nearly 5,000 jobs from the peak of just over 30,000 jobs in 2005, the region’s manufacturers have almost regained pre-recession employment levels.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With nearly 6,000 jobs, food manufacturing is the largest industry sub-sector in Northwest, followed by transportation equipment manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, and fabricated metal product manufacturing, which each had around 4,000 jobs. The region also had 3,500 jobs in wood product manufacturing, and around 1,000 jobs in printing and related support activities, plastics and rubber products manufacturing, nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, and computer and electronic product manufacturing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Machinery manufacturing led regional job growth in Northwest Minnesota from 2013 to 2018, adding 555 jobs.  Miscellaneous manufacturing also added over 200 jobs; and chemical manufacturing, food manufacturing, and beverage and tobacco manufacturing added over 150 jobs during the five-year period. On the other hand, five of the 17 manufacturing subsectors in Northwest Minnesota lost jobs from 2013 to 2018, with printing and related support activities (-116) and transportation equipment manufacturing (-671) suffering the highest losses (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/090919-nw-figure1_tcm1045-402039.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota employment change, manufacturing subsectors, 2013-2018&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota employment change, manufacturing subsectors, 2013-2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;090919-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;br xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; /&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The region has some unique manufacturing strengths. Northwest Minnesota is home to approximately 7.7 percent of total employment in state, but over 30 percent of the state’s jobs in transportation equipment manufacturing and wood product manufacturing. Textile mills and textile product mills also have high location quotients. Northwest Minnesota also shows slightly higher concentrations of jobs in food manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, primary metal manufacturing, nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, and fabricated metal product manufacturing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturing is also one of the highest paying industries in the region. Manufacturing payrolls surpassed $1.5 billion in 2018, accounting for 16.7 percent of total payroll in Northwest Minnesota. Average annual wages in manufacturing were $52,267 in 2018, which was over $11,000 and 28 percent higher than wages across the total of all industries in the region. Manufacturing wages increased 5.5 percent over the past year, compared to a 3.8 percent wage increase overall from 2017 to 2018.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>402036</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:03Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Regional Hourly Wages</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Regional Hourly Wages</Title><title>2019-08-15 Regional Hourly Wages ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-399395&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-08-15T17:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Over half of all occupations in the Northwest planning region provides a wage that allows a family to meet a basic needs cost of living – that&apos;s nearly 70 percent of jobs in the region. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With a &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=000000&amp;amp;geog=EDR1,EDR2,EDR4,EDR5,NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;median hourly wage of $18.09&lt;/a&gt;, the 26-county Northwest Minnesota planning region has the second lowest median wage of the six planning regions in the state. Median wages were nearly $5 lower than in the Twin Cities metro area, and between $0.50 and $1.00 lower than the neighboring Northeast and Central regions, respectively (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/080719-nw-table1_tcm1045-399396.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Occupational Employment Statistics by Planning Region, 2019&quot; alt=&quot;Table 1. Occupational Employment Statistics by Planning Region, 2019&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;080719-nw-table1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
Many factors create these wage gaps, including the industry and occupational mix, the size of employers and the demand for employees, and the cost of living in the region. To that end, Northwest Minnesota also has the second lowest &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;cost of living&lt;/a&gt; of the six planning regions (Table 2).
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&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/080719-nw-table2_tcm1045-399397.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 2. Basic Needs Cost of Living Estimates, 2018&quot; alt=&quot;Table 2. Basic Needs Cost of Living Estimates, 2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;080719-nw-table2&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
While the median annual wage in Northwest was about $9,750 lower than in the Twin Cities, the cost of living for a typical family was also about $13,750 lower in Northwest than the Twin Cities metro. Likewise, Central Minnesota’s cost of living was nearly $6,000 above and Northeast was about $1,500 higher than Northwest. In all cases, the median hourly wage in each region was above the hourly wage required to meet a basic needs cost of living.
&lt;br xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; /&gt;
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&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This simple comparison means that well over half of all occupations in the region provide a wage that would allow a typical family to meet a basic needs cost of living. This includes over 430 detailed occupations employing nearly 155,000 people – or nearly 70 percent of jobs in the region.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, that also means there are nearly a hundred occupations employing over 60,000 workers with median hourly wages that fall below that threshold. For example, there are 6,830 people working as cashiers, making it the second largest employing occupation in the region, with a median wage of just $11.83 per hour. Even at the high end of the pay scale, cashiers are not earning enough to meet the region’s basic needs cost of living.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A family can afford to have one worker holding a job below the wage threshold if it also has another worker that is earning above the required wage, but not all households have that luxury. Some households have just one worker, more children, or higher or lower costs in some of the major cost categories such as housing, transportation, food, or child care. For example, the hourly wage required for a single parent with two children was $27.74 in Northwest Minnesota. While there were still 175 occupations that had higher median hourly wages, there were just 43,260 people currently employed in those jobs, meaning they are likely harder to find.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Every household situation is different, so finding an &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;occupation that is in demand&lt;/a&gt; and provides wages that can meet or exceed the region’s cost of living can be a unique challenge. DEED provides a wide range of &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;data tools&lt;/a&gt; to help job seekers in the region find the career that fits their lifestyle.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information &lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>399395</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:01Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Filling the Pipeline</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Filling the Pipeline</Title><title>2019-07-16 Filling the Pipeline ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-393087&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-07-16T16:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Even if labor force participation rates increase for older workers, it will still be a challenge to find workers to fill jobs. Employers will need to tap into new pipelines for talent.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;After &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/june-2019/filling-the-pipeline.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;adding 25,000 new workers since the turn of the century&lt;/a&gt;, the labor force in the 26-county Northwest region surpassed 300,000 workers in 2015, and has hovered right around that number ever since (Figure 1). The region’s growth rate of 9.2 percent since 2000 slightly outpaced the statewide increase of 9.1 percent, leaving Northwest with the second largest regional workforce outside the Twin Cities area.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/071219_nw_figure1_tcm1045-393083.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Annual Labor Force Estimates, 2000-2018&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Annual Labor Force Estimates, 2000-2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;071219-nw-figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;br xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; /&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While the region’s available labor force is still growing, the pace has slowed in recent years. After averaging a gain of nearly 4,500 net new workers each year from 1990 through 2000, then just over 2,250 new workers annually in the 2000s, the region has added only 2,700 workers total from 2010 to 2018, an average of 339 workers per year.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employers in Northwest have benefited from this deep talent pool over the past decades, but the aging population and slowing growth means that luxury is starting to dry up. What’s more, labor force projections from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/admin/demography/data-by-topic/population-data/our-projections/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota State Demographic Center&lt;/a&gt; show that the region is expected to see a decline in available workers in the next decade, dropping about 2.1 percent from 2020 to 2030. Even if participation rates increase for older workers, projections show it will still be a challenge to find workers to fill jobs.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota has enjoyed eight straight years of job growth since bottoming out with about 207,500 jobs at employer establishments in 2010 at the end of the Great Recession. It is now at a new peak of almost 222,500 jobs in 2018 (Figure 2). Expanding just over 7 percent from 2010 to 2018, the region’s economy didn’t quite keep pace with the state’s 12 percent growth rate, but labor force availability has become a constraint for employers looking to expand even more.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/071219_nw_figure2_tcm1045-393084.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 2. Industry Employment, 2003-2018&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 2. Industry Employment, 2003-2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;071219-nw-figure2&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;br xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; /&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A strong economy that added nearly 15,000 jobs compared with a workforce that added only 2,700 workers over the same time frame has led to a much tighter labor market. As evidence, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/laus/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;unemployment rate in the region&lt;/a&gt; dropped from a high of 8.2 percent in 2009 to just 3.8 percent in 2018, the lowest rate ever reported for Northwest Minnesota.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employers who want to find workers will need to tap into new pipelines to fill their available jobs in the future. Even as labor force growth has slowed down, labor force diversity has picked up, creating new opportunities for job seekers and employers.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>393087</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:01Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Generations in the Workplace</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Generations in the Workplace</Title><title>2019-06-21 Generations in the Workplace ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-390011&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-06-21T21:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>In step with workforce declines, the shifting age structure will lead to an even tighter labor market. Employers will need to respond to changing labor force availability.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With a total of about 566,000 people, Northwest Minnesota’s population has been growing but also aging over time. There are now &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/lmi-reports/generations/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;six generations living together&lt;/a&gt;, with baby boomers still comprising the largest generation in the region, with just over 143,000 people, followed by Generation Z with about 131,000 youngsters and millennials with 126,000 people. The region has a relatively small representation from Generation X with about 100,000 people, while the two oldest generations – Silent and Greatest – have the smallest population at about 66,500 (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/060719_nw_figure1_tcm1045-390012.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota Population and Labor Force by Generation, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota Population and Labor Force by Generation, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;060719-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
Consequently, there are now also at least five generations at work in Northwest Minnesota, ranging from teenagers in Generation Z to senior citizens from the Silent and Greatest generations. According to recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, millennials make up the largest cohort in the labor force with about 101,650 workers, followed by Generation X with 90,495 workers. As the front end of the baby boom generation has started reaching retirement age, the number of baby boomers has dropped to just under 79,000 workers, and there are still about 7,300 workers age 72 and older in Northwest Minnesota. Generation Z is just entering the workforce, but already provides nearly 8,000 workers.
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&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/admin/demography/data-by-topic/population-data/our-projections/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;population projections from the Minnesota State Demographic Center&lt;/a&gt;, Northwest Minnesota is expected to gain just over 7,000 new residents through 2030, with much of the growth due to an aging population. If Northwest Minnesota changes at the projected rates, applying current labor force participation rates by age group to future population projections by age group means the region will see a slight decrease in the labor force over the next decade. This departure from a growing to a shrinking labor force would be unprecedented in the region (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/060719_nw_table1_tcm1045-390013.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Labor Force Projections, 2020-2030&quot; alt=&quot;Table 1. Northwest Minnesota Labor Force Projections, 2020-2030&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;060719-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
Aside from an overall decrease, the age structure of the labor force is also projected to shift over time, with gains in the number of workers age 65 and over against large declines in the number of workers age 45 to 64. However, the region is still expected to see gains in the number of entry-level workers age 20 to 44. In step with workforce declines, the shifting age structure will lead to an even tighter labor market in the future with employers needing to respond to changing labor force availability.
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&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Using data from the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates program, DEED created an &lt;a href=&quot;https://public.tableau.com/profile/magda.olson#!/vizhome/Generations_15514727617630/Dashboard1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;interactive visualization&lt;/a&gt; that provides insight into the estimated size of the generations in each region and county in the state for 2017. This tool can help local elected officials and workforce development professionals understand the demographic shifts occurring in their geography.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://public.tableau.com/profile/magda.olson#!/%20vizhome/Generations_15514727617630/Dashboard1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/060719_nw_map1_tcm1045-390014.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Percentage of the Population in the Baby Boomer Generation, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Percentage of the Population in the Baby Boomer Generation, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;060719-nw-map1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information &lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>390011</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:01Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Regionally Relevant Occupations – With a Few Surprises</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Regionally Relevant Occupations – With a Few Surprises</Title><title>2019-05-16 Regionally Relevant Occupations – With a Few Surprises ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-384799&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-05-16T20:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Occupations with the highest location quotients include ag, forestry, and natural resources. But protective services is right up there.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With all of the farms in the region, &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=259021&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Farm and Home Management Advisors&lt;/a&gt; are nearly 10 times as concentrated in Northwest Minnesota as the rest of the state; while &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=119013&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=451011&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;First-line Supervisors of Farming and Forestry Workers&lt;/a&gt; were five times more concentrated in the region.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Other occupations more likely to be found in Northwest Minnesota than the rest of the state, include:
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=454023&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Log Graders and Scalers&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=373013&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Tree Trimmers and Pruners&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=191031&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Conservation Scientists&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=194093&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Forest and Conservation Technicians&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=194091&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Environmental Science and Protection Technicians&lt;/a&gt;, and&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=191032&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Foresters&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These unique concentrations are identified through the use of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/area_lq_chart/area_lq_chart.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;location quotients&lt;/a&gt;, based on newly released 2019 data from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/default&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupational Employment Statistics&lt;/a&gt; program. By comparing each occupation’s share of regional employment to the state concentration, location quotients show whether occupations are more or less likely to be located in the region than the state. A location quotient of 2.0 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the region than it does statewide, whereas a location quotient of 0.5 indicates the area’s concentration is half the statewide share. 
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://public.tableau.com/profile/magda.olson#!/vizhome/OES_LocationQuotient/Story1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;region’s list of occupations with the highest location quotients&lt;/a&gt; contain obvious areas of strength such as agriculture, forestry, and natural resources, but also some surprises. Northwest Minnesota has a strong concentration of protective service workers, including:
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=339091&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Crossing Guards&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=333041&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Parking Enforcement Workers&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=333011&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Bailiffs&lt;/a&gt;, and&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=119161&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Emergency Management Directors&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Several production occupations also make the list due to the region’s unique manufacturing base. They include:
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=512091&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=173024&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Electro-Mechanical Technicians&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=513091&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Food Roasting &amp;amp; Baking Machine Operators&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=514035&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Milling and Planing Machine Setters&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=514191&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Heat Treating Equipment Setters&lt;/a&gt;, and&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/DetailedOccupationData?code=513099&amp;amp;geog=NWMN,US,MN&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Food Processing Workers&lt;/a&gt;.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Using data from DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/default&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupational Employment Statistics&lt;/a&gt; program, DEED created an &lt;a href=&quot;https://public.tableau.com/profile/magda.olson#!/vizhome/OES_LocationQuotient/Story1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;interactive visualization&lt;/a&gt; that provides various looks at jobs with the highest location quotients in every region in the state, including Northwest Minnesota (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://public.tableau.com/profile/magda.olson#!/vizhome/OES_LocationQuotient/Story1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/051019_nw_figure1_tcm1045-384801.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Occupations with the Highest Location Quotients in Northwest Minnesota, 2019&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Occupations with the Highest Location Quotients in Northwest Minnesota, 2019&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;051019-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>384799</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:53:01Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>The Importance of Immigration, Part 2</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>The Importance of Immigration, Part 2</Title><title>2019-04-02 The Importance of Immigration, Part 2 ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-378328&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-04-02T22:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Many new Minnesotans report the ability to speak some English but need more education to be prepared for the workforce.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As detailed in last month’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/374946&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Local Look blog&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/immigration_022519_nw_tcm1045-324886.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;immigrants are becoming an increasingly important part of Northwest Minnesota’s labor force&lt;/a&gt;. One challenge for immigrants assimilating in a new culture is language, but many new Minnesotans have made headway. About 63.5 percent of immigrants in Northwest Minnesota reported speaking a foreign language, but many also had some ability to speak English. Three-fourths reported being able to speak English “well” or “very well” while the others spoke English “not well” or “not at all” (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Foreign-born adults had a higher percentage of bachelor’s and advanced degrees, helping to fill high-demand openings in health care and computer-related fields. However, about 50 percent of foreign-born residents aged 25 years and over had a high school diploma or less. This sizeable number shows that many immigrants may need access to education to be prepared for the workforce, where jobs for high school graduates are in high demand (Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/040219_nw_figure12_tcm1045-378332.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Ability to Speak English for the Foreign Born Population, 5 Years &amp;amp; Over, Northwest Minnesota, 2017 and Figure 2. Educational Attainment for Adults, Aged 25 Years &amp;amp; Over, Northwest Minnesota, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Ability to Speak English for the Foreign Born Population, 5 Years &amp;amp; Over, Northwest Minnesota, 2017 and Figure 2. Educational Attainment for Adults, Aged 25 Years &amp;amp; Over, Northwest Minnesota, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;040219-nw-figure1-2&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Perhaps due in part to the language and educational characteristics described above, immigrants were much more likely to work in certain occupational and industry groups than native-born workers. For example, foreign-born workers were found more often in service occupations, which includes health care support, protective service, food preparation and serving, building and grounds cleaning, and personal care occupations. Immigrants were also more concentrated in production, transportation, and material moving occupations.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Some of these occupations are already showing critical workforce shortages in Northwest Minnesota, including nursing, psychiatric, home health and personal care aides as well as computer and construction-related occupations. Along those same lines, foreign-born workers were much more likely to be found working in manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, and administrative support and waste management services – which includes temporary staffing services. Immigrants were less likely to be employed in retail trade, public administration, finance, real estate, and construction (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/040219-nw-table1_tcm1045-378334.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Top Occupations Employing Foreign Born Workers in Northwest Minnesota, 2018&quot; alt=&quot;Table 1. Top Occupations Employing Foreign Born Workers in Northwest Minnesota, 2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;040219-nw-table1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
Wherever they work, these new Minnesotans are a vital part of the state and region’s economy, providing some growth to an otherwise aging and slowing labor force. Immigrants have proven to be ready and willing contributors, with high and rising labor force participation rates. While some have educational and language barriers to certain jobs, there are a variety of occupations, including many that are already in critical need of workers, where immigrants already contribute in significant numbers. Labor force constraints will necessitate that every employer consider our foreign-born population as a source of the talent they will need in the years ahead.
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>378328</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:59Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>The Importance of Immigration, Part 1</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>The Importance of Immigration, Part 1</Title><title>2019-03-07 The Importance of Immigration, Part 1 ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-374946&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-03-07T22:30:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Northwest Minnesota is home to 12,000 foreign-born residents, about 2.1 percent of the total population. And they&apos;re critical to the region’s economy.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In the face of increasingly tight labor markets, a growing scarcity of workers is one of Minnesota’s most significant barriers to sustained economic growth. Because of these constraints, it has become evident that &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/lmi-reports/importance-immigration/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;immigration will continue to be a vital source of the workforce&lt;/a&gt; that employers need to succeed. Though still a relatively small portion of Northwest Minnesota’s population, immigrants have become critical to the region’s economy, providing a rapid stream of new workers in the face of an aging native-born workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;American Community Survey&lt;/a&gt;, Northwest Minnesota is now home to 12,000 foreign born residents, or about 2.1 percent of the total population. The number of immigrants in the region increased by 13.3 percent from 2010 to 2017, though that did not keep pace with the statewide growth rate of 22.2 percent (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/030619-nw-figure1_tcm1045-374947.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Place of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population, Northwest Minnesota, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Place of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population, Northwest Minnesota, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 50%;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xlink:title=&quot;030619-nw-figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED’s Regional Analysis &amp;amp; Outreach Unit put together a &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/immigration_022519_nw_tcm1045-324886.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;regional report&lt;/a&gt; detailing the characteristics of the foreign-born population in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/immigration_022519_nw_tcm1045-324886.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;. For example, the largest number of foreign born residents in the region were from Asia, accounting for one in every three immigrants. Most of these immigrants came from either Southeastern Asia, including the Philippines, Vietnam, and Laos; or Eastern Asia, primarily China and Korea.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Almost 30 percent of the region’s immigrants were from Latin America, including about 2,000 residents who were from Mexico. The fastest growth was coming from South America, most notably Brazil and Colombia.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Another 1,850 foreign-born residents were from Europe, though that was a 9 percent decline since 2010. In contrast, Northwest Minnesota saw a significant gain in the number of immigrants from Africa from 2010 to 2017. Nearly two-thirds of those new residents are from Eastern Africa, a population that doubled since 2010.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Close proximity to the Canada border meant the region welcomed about 1,400 immigrants from the north, giving Northwest the largest Canadian population in Greater Minnesota. The smallest number of immigrants in the region was from Oceania, which includes Australia and New Zealand.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Immigrants have a much younger age profile than the native-born population. In 2017, 52.3 percent of the foreign-born population were in their prime working years between 25 and 54 years of age, compared to just 34.3 percent of the total population. Likewise, just 12.4 percent of the region’s foreign-born population was 65 years and over, compared to 19.2 percent of the total population. However, only 8.3 percent of Northwest Minnesota’s immigrants were under 15 years of age, compared to 19.2 percent of the total population (Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/030619-nw-figure2_tcm1045-374948.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 2. Northwest Minnesota Percentage of Population by Age Group, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 2. Northwest Minnesota Percentage of Population by Age Group, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 503px; height: 330px;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;030619-nw-figure2&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This younger age concentration is important to the region’s workforce. Statewide, 72.2 percent of the foreign-born population aged 16 years and over was actively participating in the labor force, which was actually higher than the native born population (69.6 percent). In Northwest Minnesota, that would equal about 7,650 available immigrant workers, comprising about 2.7 percent of the region’s workforce.  While the region’s overall labor force growth was slowing, the number of immigrant workers in the region would have increased by about 960 workers from 2010 to 2017 – accounting for almost 25 percent of the region’s labor force growth this decade.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:Cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at or 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>374946</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:59Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Commuting to Work</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Commuting to Work</Title><title>2019-02-01 Commuting to Work ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-370526&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-02-01T21:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Northwest is thriving economically, but the region is a net exporter of labor, having fewer jobs than available workers. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota’s economy is thriving, with &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/qcew/ResultsDisp.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;record employment levels&lt;/a&gt; and unprecedented numbers of &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/jvs/Results.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;job vacancies&lt;/a&gt;. Northwest is a great place to work, but according to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;U.S. Census Bureau’s OnTheMap tool&lt;/a&gt;, the region is actually a net exporter of labor, having fewer jobs than available workers. In 2015, 189,191 workers both lived and worked in Northwest, while another 32,545 workers drove into the region for work. This is compared to 68,686 workers who lived in the region but drove to outside areas for work (Figure 1).&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/013119-nw-figure1_tcm1045-370518.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota Labor and Communte Shed, 2015&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota Labor and Communte Shed, 2015&quot; style=&quot;width: 50%;&quot; class=&quot;photoLeftNoBorder&quot; xlink:title=&quot;013119-nw-figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the vast majority – 69 percent – of residents in the region both live and work in the same county. That is a higher percentage in comparison to the state. However, close proximity to both the Fargo and Grand Forks metropolitan areas draws a relatively large number of workers across the state border, where Northwest also has a higher percentage than the state (Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/013119-nw-figure2_tcm1045-370520.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 2. Commuting Characteristics by Place of Work, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 2. Commuting Characteristics by Place of Work, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;013119-nw-figure2&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Working close to home led to relatively short travel times to work, including nearly 60 percent of workers who commuted less than 20 minutes. The average travel time to work in Northwest Minnesota was 20.6 minutes, nearly three minutes shorter than the state as a whole (Figure 3). &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/013119-nw-figure3_tcm1045-370521.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 3. Mean Travel TIme to Work in Minutes, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 3. Mean Travel TIme to Work in Minutes, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 297px; height: 323px;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;013119-nw-figure3&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>370526</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:59Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Drone Economy on the Way Up</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Drone Economy on the Way Up</Title><title>2019-01-11 Drone Economy on the Way Up ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-364784&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2019-01-11T20:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>The drone industry is poised to take off: Northland Community &amp; Technical College is offering the first unmanned aerial systems (UAS) maintenance training program in the US.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A recent Forbes article suggests that the drone industry is poised to really take off, perhaps becoming one of the most profitable and rewarding uses of technology in the new economy. A &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/commercial-drones-are-here-the-future-of-unmanned-aerial-systems&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2017 study from McKinsey &amp;amp; Company&lt;/a&gt; suggests that commercial growth of the U.S. drone industry soared from $40 million in 2012 to more than $1 billion in 2017. Beyond that, by 2026, McKinsey estimates that &apos;commercial drones – both corporate and consumer applications – will have an annual impact of $31 billion to $46 billion on the country&apos;s Gross Domestic Product.&apos;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Led by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.northlandcollege.edu/aerospace/aerospace-programs/unmanned-aerial-systems/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northland Community &amp;amp; Technical College&lt;/a&gt;, Northwest Minnesota has staked a claim in the field of drones, offering the first unmanned aerial systems (UAS) maintenance training program in the country. As the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.startribune.com/northwest-minnesota-embraces-drone-industry/255260911/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Star Tribune&lt;/a&gt; has pointed out, agriculture and other innovative leaders in the region have been collaborating for the past five years to make the most of the opportunity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/graduate-employment-outcomes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes data&lt;/a&gt;, Northland Community &amp;amp; Technical College has averaged just under 50 graduates per year from its vehicle maintenance and repair technologies program over the past three years, which includes aerospace and avionics maintenance technology programs. The median hourly wage for graduates who earned certificates was $16.17 in the second year after graduation, which climbed quickly to $17.70 per hour by the third year (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/010719-nw-table1_tcm1045-364806.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Graduate Employment Outcomes for Northland Community &amp;amp; Technical College&quot; alt=&quot;Table 1. Graduate Employment Outcomes for Northland Community &amp;amp; Technical College&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;010719-nw-table1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
In addition, the GEO data show that about 60 percent of graduates from these programs found employment in Northwest Minnesota. That’s excellent retention for the region in a program that offers wages well above the basic needs &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Cost of Living&lt;/a&gt;. Beyond that, a check of openings on &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minnesotaworks.net/Search.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;MinnesotaWorks.net&lt;/a&gt; shows more than 30 current positions featuring the keyword &quot;drone&quot; statewide, and 13 new listings for the search term &quot;unmanned.&quot; However, most of these jobs are headquartered in the Twin Cities metro area, with the exception of a half dozen located in the Grand Forks area.
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>364784</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:59Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Changing Workforce Demographics</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Changing Workforce Demographics</Title><title>2018-12-07 Changing Workforce Demographics ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-361644&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-12-07T21:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>The number of jobs held by workers of races other than white has been growing rapidly. Workers of other races accounted for 39 percent of new jobs added from 2012 to 2017. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As reported in previous blog posts, Northwest Minnesota has become more racially diverse over time, leading to a &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/344150&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;growing population&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/340998&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;labor force&lt;/a&gt;. While the region is still relatively non-diverse, the number of jobs held by workers of races other than white was growing rapidly. According to data from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qwi/index.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Workforce Indicators&lt;/a&gt; program, about 92.8 percent of jobs in the 26-county Northwest planning region were held by workers who identified as white alone.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite comprising just 7 percent of all jobholders, workers of other races accounted for 39 percent of the new jobs added in the region from 2012 to 2017. The number of jobs held by black or African American workers climbed 86.5 percent from 2012 to 2017, more than 30 percent for workers of two or more races, nearly 25 percent for Asian workers, and 7 percent for American Indians and Alaska Natives, compared to a 2.5 percent increase for whites (Figure 1). Per QWI program data, there were 147 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders working in Northwest Minnesota – less than 0.1% of the total workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/120518-nw-figure1_tcm1045-361702.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota Workforce Demographics by Race, Total of All Industries, 2012-2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota Workforce Demographics by Race, Total of All Industries, 2012-2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;120518-nw-figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Almost every industry benefited from hiring workers of other races over the past five years, with Mining and Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation being the only exceptions. Interestingly enough, those two industries represent the least and most racially diverse industries in the region – the Mining workforce is 100 percent white, while nearly one-third of the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation workforce was some other race, including 27 percent who were American Indian or Alaska Natives.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Likewise, many American Indians worked in Public Administration, accounting for just over 13 percent of total jobs in the industry in Northwest Minnesota. Accommodation and Food Services was staffed by several different race groups, including American Indians, Black or African Americans, Asian or Other Pacific Islanders, and people of Two or More Races. Health Care and Social Assistance positions were also held by a broader range of workers across different race groups.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In contrast, more than 98 percent of workers in Information, Utilities, Management of Companies, and Mining were white alone in 2017, showing a significant lack of diversity despite the changes occurring in the region’s workforce (Figure 2). To that end, the largest increases in racial diversity were shown in the Public Administration, Accommodation and Food Services, Real Estate and Leasing, and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/120518-nw-figure2_tcm1045-361704.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 2. Northwest Minnesota Workforce Demographics by Race, 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 2. Northwest Minnesota Workforce Demographics by Race, 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;120518-nw-figure2&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cameron Macht&lt;/a&gt; at 320-441-6596.   &lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>361644</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:55Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Serving Our Troops</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Serving Our Troops</Title><title>2018-10-31 Serving Our Troops ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-357241&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-10-31T20:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Citizen soldiers of the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Red Bull infantry division often leave employment while deployed overseas, but can be quickly re-employed once they have completed their service. They receive priority of service in all Minnesota WorkForce Centers.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;More than 650 soldiers of the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/34id/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Red Bull infantry division&lt;/a&gt; started a 10-month deployment to the Middle East on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. According to news reports, the Red Bulls are training at Fort Hood in Texas for about a month, then will primarily be stationed in Kuwait until late July 2019 in support of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/TaskForceSpartanOSS/?__tn__=K-R&amp;amp;eid=ARA1PUlfe-N4Y6O4a_xyW9FZK_-tImMvwit1-Vi9_tykPrwuu1D6kzynRU0szZyMn0YFFCGfGio7O6bC&amp;amp;fref=mentions&amp;amp;__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARB-OIh7b-x_6eGZOVOYhbqtJRN1xJhHlMZC2X2zaP3TVe0wLwDoioAoehJ-4drc7uMB5N1KmTuviZFTIc2NkVQKoBUUe5loUebhXdLzdpospaj1E1H3A0hu71uxdJuxuhGhclNNGez6UO6bMXKH4AhWHlUh2_gPemdN8Ky1z-Lhrma9qpQF3tcTd40dCzCV5m_8e-YwU0BsYbllacU16gyo72U&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Task Force Spartan – OSS&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Before they left, these soldiers took part in a &lt;a href=&quot;https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/09/20/serving-our-troops-minnesota-national-guard-red-bulls-kuwait-deployment/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;departure ceremony&lt;/a&gt; at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, which included a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.servingourtroops.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Serving Our Troops&lt;/a&gt; farewell dinner for them and their families. You can keep track of the Red Bulls on their mission through their engaging and comprehensive &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/TheRedBulls&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Facebook page&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/lmi-help/labor-market-experts/chet-bodin.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;, our regional analyst in Northwest Minnesota, is among the deployed soldiers and will be greatly missed while he is gone. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/lmi-help/labor-market-experts/#regional-analysts&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s regional analysis team&lt;/a&gt; will still be available to respond to requests and provide labor market information in Northwest Minnesota. &lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/101718-nw-esgr_tcm1045-357242.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Logo for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve&quot; alt=&quot;Logo for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve&quot; style=&quot;width: 277px; height: 183px;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xlink:title=&quot;101718-nw-esgr&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These citizen soldiers often are leaving employment here while they are deployed overseas, but can be quickly re-employed once they have completed their service. The &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.esgr.mil/About-ESGR/Who-is-ESGR&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve&lt;/a&gt; (ESGR) is a Department of Defense program that assists employers and soldiers in these matters. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) is the federal law that establishes rights and responsibilities for members of the National Guard and Reserve and their civilian employers. USERRA covers employment, reemployment and retention rights when employees serve in the uniformed Services.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to the ESGR Employer Resource Guide, the law applies to all public and private employers in the United States to include federal, state, territory and local governments, regardless of size. Providing that the service member met all criteria, employers must provide the following:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Prompt job reinstatement&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Accumulation of seniority, including pension plan benefits&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Reinstatement of health insurance&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Training/retraining of job skills, including accommodations for the disabled&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Protection against discrimination&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As described in the resource guide, employers can greatly benefit from the enhanced expertise, perspective, professionalism, and leadership that soldiers gain while deployed. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kbrfradio.com/news/local/mn-national-guard-red-bulls-deploying-middle-east-kuwait-week&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;In one news report&lt;/a&gt;, Command Sergeant Major Joe Hjelmstad commented that our Minnesota &quot;citizen-soldiers will return to their families and employers with new skills and experience that will make them even more valuable members of their communities.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED has &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/veteran-services/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;resources&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/veteran-services/employment-services/vets-reps.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;representatives&lt;/a&gt; in place to provide priority services for former military members in all WorkForce Centers across the state. This includes help with &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/veteran-services/find-a-job/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;setting career goals, pursuing education, or finding a job&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more information about how to support members of the guard and reserve, contact:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
&lt;br /&gt;
4800 Mark Center Dr., Suite 03E25
&lt;br /&gt;
Alexandria, VA 22350
&lt;br /&gt;
1-800-336-4590
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.esgr.mil/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;https://www.esgr.mil/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.facebook.com/GoESGR&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;facebook.com/GoESGR&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.twitter.com/ESGR&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;twitter.com/ESGR&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.LinkedIn.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;LinkedIn.com&lt;/a&gt; – search for the ESGR Group&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.YouTube.com/EmployerSupport&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;YouTube.com/EmployerSupport&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Cameron Macht at 320-441-6596 or &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:cameron.macht@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;cameron.macht@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Cameron Macht</Author><id>357241</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:54Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>2018 Manufacturing Highlights</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>2018 Manufacturing Highlights</Title><title>2018-09-27 2018 Manufacturing Highlights ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-353017&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-09-27T16:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Northwest Minnesota’s economy had substantial job growth from 2012-2017, with the addition of 1,432 manufacturing jobs. That is the highest number of jobs of any regional industry over the last five years – and accounts for 13.5 percent of total regional growth. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/2018-northwest-updated_tcm1045-352204.png&quot; title=&quot;2018 Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing&quot; alt=&quot;2018 Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing&quot; style=&quot;width: 300px; height: 701px;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xlink:title=&quot;2018-northwest-updated&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With 28,739 jobs at 815 establishments, manufacturing is the second largest employing industry in the 26-county Northwest Minnesota planning region, just behind health care and social assistance. Manufacturing accounts for 13.0 percent of total employment in Northwest, almost 2 percent more concentrated than in the state as a whole, where 11.2 percent of total jobs are in manufacturing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota’s economy has had substantial job growth from 2012 to 2017, adding 10,642 jobs overall, including 1,432 net new jobs in manufacturing. As such, manufacturing added the highest number of jobs of any regional industry over the last five years, and accounted for 13.5 percent of total regional growth in that time. However, the region has not seen a return to the number of manufacturing jobs lost during the recession, which exceeded 30,000 jobs as recently as 2005, before dropping as low as 25,413 jobs in 2010.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With 6,048 jobs, the largest subsector in Northwest is food manufacturing, followed by transportation equipment manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, fabricated metal product manufacturing, and wood product manufacturing which each had between 3,400 and 4,100 jobs. The region also had at least 1,000 jobs in nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing and printed and related activities; and over 900 jobs in plastics and rubber products manufacturing and computer and electronic product manufacturing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Machinery manufacturing led regional job growth in Northwest Minnesota from 2012 to 2017, adding 578 net new jobs. Miscellaneous manufacturing also added over 200 jobs; and nonmetallic mineral product, chemical, and food manufacturing also added over 150 jobs over the five-year period. Only two manufacturing subsectors in Northwest Minnesota lost jobs from 2012 to 2017, with fabricated metal product manufacturing and transportation equipment manufacturing suffering the largest losses (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/092718-nw-figure1rev_tcm1045-353082.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Employment Change, 2012-2017&quot; alt=&quot;Figure 1. Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing Employment Change, 2012-2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;092718-nw-figure1rev&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota is home to about 7.8 percent of total employment in the state, but over 30 percent of the state’s jobs in transportation equipment manufacturing and wood product manufacturing, have location quotients of 4.9 and 3.9, respectively. Textile product mills also has a location quotient above 2.0. These results suggest a regional competitive advantage in each of these subsectors. Northwest Minnesota also shows slightly higher concentrations of jobs in food manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, primary metal manufacturing, nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, and fabricated metal product manufacturing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;One of the highest paying industries in the region, manufacturing payroll surpassed $1.4 billion in 2017, accounting for 16.4 percent of total payroll in Northwest Minnesota. Average annual wages in manufacturing were $49,556 in 2017, which was over $10,000 and 26 percent higher than average annual wages across the total of all regional industries. Manufacturing wages increased 4.3 percent over the past year, compared to a 3.4 percent wage increase overall from 2016 to 2017. However, manufacturing wages haven’t grown as fast over the past five years, rising 13.5 percent from 2012 to 2017, which was shy of the 16.3 percent regional growth rate across all industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>353017</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:54Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Workforce Pathways</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Workforce Pathways</Title><title>2018-08-28 Workforce Pathways ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-350808&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-08-28T20:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Are West Central&apos;s two-year colleges meeting the need?</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;West Central Minnesota boasts a number of quality post-secondary institutions providing students a variety of options, from vocational training to post-graduate work. At the four-year university level, this includes Minnesota State University-Moorhead, Concordia College-Moorhead, and the University of Minnesota-Morris; while at the two-year college level, the region is home to Alexandria Technical and Community College (ATCC) and Minnesota State Community and Technical College (M-State) in Fergus Falls, Detroit Lakes, Moorhead, and Wadena.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In total, more than 4,400 students earned an award of some type from these institutions during the 2013-2014 school year. While all of these institutions play an important role in the educational attainment of the population, this blog post focuses on the two-year colleges, which awarded nearly 1,500 associate degrees and more than 600 one-year certificates/diplomas that year, accounting for about half the college graduates in the region. Awards, certificates, diplomas, and degrees from these institutions are often less costly, take less time to complete than a bachelor’s degree, and most importantly, are leading to jobs in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, employment outcomes vary by institution and degree type. DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/graduate-employment-outcomes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes&lt;/a&gt; tool offers insight to which programs are leading to livable wages and/or full-time work. From M-State, over 750 graduates from the 2013-2014 academic year were working in Minnesota within two years, and earning a median hourly wage of $15.66. The largest number of graduates studied in a health care-related field before entering the workforce, and subsequently, health care was the top industry of employment for M-State graduates overall. This aligns well with the regional economy, where health care and social assistance is the leading industry of employment. Health care graduates were earning nearly $20.00 per hour within two years – well above the median wage for &lt;em&gt;all&lt;/em&gt; jobs in Northwest Minnesota ($17.38), and close to the statewide median hourly wage ($20.07). All of the largest programs at M-State were placing the largest number of graduates at firms in Northwest Minnesota (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082118-nw-table1_tcm1045-350809.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Graduate Employment Outcomes, Minnesota State Community &amp;amp; Technical College (2014 graduates)&quot; alt=&quot;Table 1. Graduate Employment Outcomes, Minnesota State Community &amp;amp; Technical College (2014 graduates)&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082118-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;ATCC has a different mix of programs that lead to different employment outcomes. The largest number of graduates came through the law enforcement program, where more graduates found work in the Twin Cities than in the region. Four of the top five programs at ATCC led to jobs with a median wage over $17.00 per hour, and the median wage of all graduates from ATCC was higher than that of M-State grads. Precision production ($18.48), mechanic and repair technologies ($17.55), and law enforcement-related programs ($17.51) are all providing excellent career tracks for their graduates, and often into full-time positions. In fact, over half of working graduates from ATCC were in full-time positions by 2016, compared to 37 percent of M-State grads (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082118-nw-table2_tcm1045-350810.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 2. Graduate Employment Outcomes, Alexandria Technical &amp;amp; Community College (2014 graduates)&quot; alt=&quot;Table 2. Graduate Employment Outcomes, Alexandria Technical &amp;amp; Community College (2014 graduates)&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082118-nw-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Cost of Living&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The employment outcomes make it clear that graduates from these institutions enjoy an economic advantage in Northwest Minnesota and EDR 4-West Central. Northwest Minnesota is the top region of employment for graduates of both institutions, and the lower cost of living in the region stretches their earnings even further. According to DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cost of Living Tool&lt;/a&gt;, an average family needs to earn $15.21 per hour (working 60 hours/week combined) to afford basic living expenses in Northwest Minnesota (Table 3). That is over $3.00 per hour less than the average needed in Minnesota ($18.47), which makes for a $10,000 difference annually. Single residents without children need to earn $13.33 to meet basic cost of living needs, compared to an average of $15.22 statewide (Table 3).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082118-nw-table3_tcm1045-350811.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 3. Annual Cost of Living, Hourly Wage, and Monthly Costs: Northwest MN&quot; alt=&quot;Table 3. Annual Cost of Living, Hourly Wage, and Monthly Costs: Northwest MN&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082118-nw-table3&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
This means that within a few years, graduates from the largest programs at M-State and ATCC will more than likely find employment with good wages in Northwest Minnesota; enough to start raising a family if they desire. These solid results help convince graduates to plant their roots in our corner of the state, and also help put the ‘community’ in community college.
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>350808</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:53Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Central Lakes College: Building Community</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Central Lakes College: Building Community</Title><title>2018-07-26 Central Lakes College: Building Community ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-347328&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-07-26T21:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Central Lakes College is working with surrounding communities and employers to train and place workers from all backgrounds. They&apos;re paving the way to work in the health care industry.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The tight labor market in Greater Minnesota is leading to high demand for workers in both skilled and unskilled positions. To address this need, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.clcmn.edu/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Central Lakes College&lt;/a&gt; (CLC), located in Brainerd and Staples, is working with surrounding communities and employers to train and place workers from all backgrounds. From recent high school graduates to those making a career transition, the programs at CLC are putting people to work at a high rate, and doing so in leading regional industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to data from DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/etd/Results.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes&lt;/a&gt; tool, CLC awarded over 950 students with a post-secondary award in 2014. Three years later, nearly 80 percent of these graduates were working in Minnesota, half of whom were employed in Northwest Minnesota. In addition to those who completed their general studies at Central Lakes, many obtained technical skills that are highly sought after by employers in health care, manufacturing and construction (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/072618-nw-table1_tcm1045-347329.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 1. Graduate employment outcomes, Central Lakes College in 2014 and third year after graduation in 2017&quot; alt=&quot;Table 1. Graduate employment outcomes, Central Lakes College in 2014 and third year after graduation in 2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;072618-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A great example is how CLC paves the way to work in the health care industry, benefitting both job seekers and employers alike. About one-third of CLC graduates turned their education into careers in healthcare, the largest industry in terms of employment in Northwest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;By 2017, the median hourly wage of all working graduates from 2014 was $17.47. This statistic alone speaks volumes about the value of Central Lakes College to those seeking a living wage in &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/assets/lmi/areamap/edr.shtml#edr5&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Economic Development Region 5&lt;/a&gt; (EDR 5-North Central). According to DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cost of Living Tool&lt;/a&gt;, an average family needs to earn $15.90 per hour (with one full-time worker and one part-time worker) to meet basic living expenses in EDR 5-North Central (Table 2). In fact, the median income of graduates from Central Lakes College is higher than the cost of living for an average family in 11 of the 13 economic development regions, including every region in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/072618-nw-table2_tcm1045-347330.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table 2 Family yearly cost, worker hourly wage, and family monthly costs, Northwest Minnesota 2018&quot; alt=&quot;Table 2 Family yearly cost, worker hourly wage, and family monthly costs, Northwest Minnesota 2018&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;072618-nw-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition, the median hourly wage of CLC graduates was higher than the median wage for &lt;em&gt;all occupations&lt;/em&gt; in Northwest Minnesota ($17.38) and EDR 5- North Central ($16.75). That means that, within a few years, recent graduates from CLC are more than likely to earn above the regional median wage. These are the type of results that convince workers and families to plant their roots in Northwest Minnesota, and put the ‘community’ in community college.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>347328</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:52Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title>Diversity by County</Title><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Diversity by County</Title><title>2018-06-28 Diversity by County ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-344150&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-06-28T22:00:00Z</Date><ShortDescription>Minority workers are a vital piece of the economy in Northwest Minnesota – and opportunities exist for others to make the region their home and earn a sustainable living.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite the pending labor force shortage that Northwest Minnesota communities anticipate, the region has continued to add workers year after year. One of the most distinct features of recent labor force growth is the ethnic and racial makeup of new workers. In 2016, there were over 9,000 more minority workers than in 2000. This infusion represents 40 percent of the overall labor force growth during that time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Regional growth in the minority labor force has been fueled by an overall ethnic and racial diversification of the region’s population. The Diversity Index allows researchers to gauge such diversification at the county level, offering a look at the distribution of racial and ethnic growth throughout the region. The &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/21/diversity-index-data-how-we-did-report/17432103/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Diversity Index&lt;/a&gt; is a number – on a scale of 1 to 100 – that represents the chance that two people chosen randomly from an area will be different by race and ethnicity. A higher number means more diversity, a lower number less.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As would be expected, the Diversity Index was highest in counties that are home to the region’s American Indian population. Mahnomen (61.9), Beltrami (43.6), and Cass County (29.2) have the three highest diversity indices, and are also co-located with Native American reservations. Having the largest American Indian population of the six regions in the state, it’s no surprise that diversity in Northwest Minnesota is highly associated with these communities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;But the region’s more recent gains are mainly being fueled by emerging minority communities in other counties. Among the top five counties where diversity has increased the most, only Mahnomen has a reservation. The rest of the top five include Stevens (+11.0), Pennington (+9.6), Red Lake (+9.4) and Todd County (+9.4).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In the five counties with the largest increase, the Hispanic or Latino population grew by an average of 392 percent, and the Black or African American population rose by an average of 248 percent. Simultaneously, these counties lost an average of 401 white residents from 2000 to 2016, which led to higher diversity scores as well.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, the racial and ethnic mix in Northwest Minnesota increased across the board from 2000 to 2016, meaning that the diversity index increased in every county. The median change in diversity score by county was +4.75, resulting in a total median county score of 14.8 in 2016. In comparison, Minnesota’s statewide diversity index was 35.1 in 2016, which was exceeded by only two of Northwest’s 26 counties. Still, the region’s median growth in diversity was 64.7 percent from 2000 to 2016, and the index doubled in six counties since the turn of the century. Statewide, the diversity index grew by 44.6 percent, indicating that the rate of change was often faster in Northwest Minnesota (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/062818-nw-chart1_tcm1045-344142.jpg&quot; title=&quot;062818-nw-chart1&quot; alt=&quot;062818-nw-chart1&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;062818-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Minority workers are a vital piece of the economy in Northwest Minnesota, and there are opportunities for others to make the region their home and earn a sustainable living. &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/jvs/Results.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Many regional job vacancies&lt;/a&gt; offer wages that meet or exceed what a single person needs to cover the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot;&gt;basic cost of living&lt;/a&gt;, and others offer a track toward higher earnings over time for families needing to earn more. The &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=000000&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;median wage in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt; now stands at $17.38, enough for most individuals and families to make ends meet and then some. Overall, there has been a momentum of diversification in the region. If other workers follow, employers and communities in Northwest Minnesota are ready to invest in them.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>344150</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:52Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Workforce Diversification</Title><title>2018-05-23 Diversification ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-340998&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-05-23T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Despite the pending labor force shortage that Northwest Minnesota communities have been anticipating, the region has continued to add workers year after year.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite the pending labor force shortage that Northwest Minnesota communities have been anticipating, the region has continued to add workers year after year. One distinct feature of recent labor force growth is the ethnic and racial makeup of new workers. In 2016, there were over 9,000 more minority workers than in 2000 (Table 1). This influx represents 40 percent of the region’s overall labor force growth since the turn of the century, even though minorities accounted for less than six percent of the labor force before the demographic shift began.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/052318-nw-table1_tcm1045-340997.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Employment Characteristics by Race&quot; alt=&quot;Employment Characteristics by Race&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;052318-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Since 2000, there has been growth in the labor force of every major racial and ethnic group in the region. Three of the five major race groups in Northwest Minnesota added over 1,500 workers each, including Black or African Americans (+1,500), American Indian and Alaska Natives (+2,088), and people identifying as Two or More Races (+1,647).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In both 2000 and 2016, American Indians and Alaska Natives represented the largest minority group in Northwest Minnesota, and their presence in the labor force increased by over 30 percent during that stretch of time. But even though they added the largest number of minority workers to the labor force, all but one other race group grew at a faster pace, leading to a more diverse workforce. In 2016, the region’s Black or African American labor force was estimated to be three and a half times larger than in 2000. The increase of Asians or Other Pacific Islanders and people of Two or More Races also outpaced that of American Indians, growing at 48.5 and 73.3 percent, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Hispanic or Latino population, which is an ethnic category rather than a race group, added more workers than any other minority group (+3,739). Most Hispanics identify as being white, however, approximately 500 of the new Hispanic or Latino labor force participants identified as a minority race as well. The net increase from 2000 to 2016 in Hispanic or Latino labor force entrants exceeded that of any race by more than 1,000 workers. In total, the number of Hispanic or Latino workers of any race more than doubled, and when compared to categories of race, only the Black or African American labor force had a higher rate of increase in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It’s clear that the emerging minority workforce is a vital part of the economy in Northwest Minnesota, and that there are opportunities for others to make the region their home and earn a sustainable living. &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/jvs/Results.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Many regional job vacancies&lt;/a&gt; offer wages that meet or exceed what a single person needs to cover the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;basic needs cost of living&lt;/a&gt;, and others offer a track toward higher earnings over time for families needing to earn more. &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=000000&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The median hourly wage in Northwest Minnesota now stands at $17.38&lt;/a&gt;, enough for most individuals and families to make ends meet – and then some. Overall, there has been momentum toward diversification in the region, and if more workers follow, there are employers and communities in Northwest Minnesota ready to invest in them.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>340998</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:52Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Gender Pay Variance</Title><title>2018-04-16 Gender Pay ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-336817&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-04-16T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>In 2018, the financial website WalletHub concluded that Minnesota is the best state for women to live and work, citing factors such as educational attainment, business ownership and rate of poverty.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In 2018, the financial website WalletHub concluded that Minnesota is the &lt;a href=&quot;https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-women/10728/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;best state for women to live and work&lt;/a&gt;, citing factors such as educational attainment, business ownership and rate of poverty. But despite the welcome accolades, an &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/september-2017/gender-wage-gap.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;obstinate gender pay gap exists across the state&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to data from the Census Bureau&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;American Community Survey&lt;/a&gt; (ACS), the unadjusted earnings ratio in Minnesota, or women&apos;s earnings as a percent of men&apos;s, was approximately 72 percent in 2016. By industry, the earnings ratio ranges from 51 percent in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector to 89 percent in real estate, rental and leasing. Overall, the gender pay gap is even larger in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/regional-lmi/northwest-lmi.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;, where the earnings ratio was approximately 66.4 percent in 2016. There are many ways to examine the gender pay gap, however. Industry sector, hours worked, level of education, and occupation can each contribute to the gender pay gap, positively or negatively.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;One factor often associated with the gender pay gap is the number of hours worked. Even if the pay is the same, one gender will earn more over the course of a pay period, or on an annual basis, if they work more hours. It should be noted, however, that the average number of hours worked can vary even among full-time employees. So while comparing the earnings of full-time, year-round workers provides a more accurate assessment of the gender pay gap than comparing overall earnings, it does not completely control for the number of hours worked.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Among full-time, year-round workers in Northwest Minnesota, a gender pay gap exists in every regional industry, although it varies from sector to sector. The Arts, Entertainment and Recreation industry had the smallest pay gap, where women earn approximately 97 percent of what men earn. On the other end of the spectrum, women earn only 42 percent of what men do in mining, where the pay gap is over 10 percent larger than in any other industry. The top three industries in terms of employment – Health Care and Social Assistance, Manufacturing, and Retail Trade – had the 4th, 11th and 7th largest gender pay gaps, respectively (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/041618-nw-figure1_tcm1045-336818.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Gender Pay Gap by Industry, Full-time, Year-Round Workers: Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Gender Pay Gap by Industry, Full-time, Year-Round Workers: Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;041618-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Perhaps unsurprisingly, the sector with the largest gender pay gap, mining, also had the smallest representation of women in the workforce. However, the relationship between workforce representation and the size of the gender pay gap is inconsistent across other industries. For example, less than 10 percent of workers in construction are women, but the industry&apos;s gender pay gap is less than half the size of that in mining. On the other hand, despite having a workforce that is nearly 65 percent female, finance and insurance has the second largest gender pay gap, as the median earnings of women in the industry are 48 percent lower than those of men in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Though women already fill just over half of the jobs in the region, data shows that a gender pay gap exists. Further progress toward closing the gender pay gap could effect change at multiple economic levels. It could be addressed to attract workers inside and outside the region and for employers competing in a tight labor market, taking steps toward equal pay may provide the edge needed to fill vacancies now and in the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>336817</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:50Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Vocational Veracity</Title><title>2018-03-21 Veracity ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-332262&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-03-21T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Following spring break, thousands of vocational and technical college students in Northwest Minnesota will be completing their degrees and re-entering the &quot;real&quot; world. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Following spring break, thousands of vocational and technical college students in Northwest Minnesota will be completing their degrees and re-entering the &quot;real&quot; world. Yet, many soon-to-be graduates are uncertain where they will end up. With DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/graduate-employment-outcomes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes&lt;/a&gt; (GEO) gauging where their education will lead them is easier than it used to be. GEO data shows that, in the 2013-2014 school year, nearly 4,500 peers graduated from public two-year state colleges in Northwest Minnesota, and most are putting their post-secondary degrees and certificates to work.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In 2016, most of the graduates worked in Minnesota, including over 80 percent of those from three of the five schools examined below. Schools closer to North Dakota produced a lower percentage of in-state workers, but it’s likely many also found work just across the border. Data show that many of those who remain in Minnesota after graduation are earning livable wages, and sometimes more. The median wage of graduates from each regional institution exceeded $15.50 per hour two years later (Table 1). And most graduates are finding ample opportunity right here in Northwest Minnesota, which employed more of these graduates than major metro areas like St. Cloud, Duluth, and the Twin Cities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/032118-nw-table1_tcm1045-332264.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2013-2014 Graduate Employment Outcomes: public two-year state colleges (all degrees)&quot; alt=&quot;2013-2014 Graduate Employment Outcomes: public two-year state colleges (all degrees)&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;032118-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, 61 percent of Northwest graduates working in Minnesota were employed in the Northwest planning region (Figure 1), and good wages probably have a lot to do with it. Of graduates working regionally in 2016, the average median wage from the five public two-year state colleges was $16.49 an hour. This exceeded the overall median wage in Northwest Minnesota in 2016, and was &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;$3.50 per hour more than the median wage offer in the fourth quarter that year&lt;/a&gt;. Graduates working elsewhere sometimes earned more, but didn’t always compare as favorably. For example, the median wage of graduates working in the Twin Cities was $18.85 per hour in 2016.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Graduates of public, two-year state colleges in Northwest Minnesota are also filling the workforce needs of the regional economy. The top industry of employment for graduates was health care and social assistance, which was not only the largest industry in Northwest Minnesota, it reported more regional job vacancies in 2016 than any other industry. In addition, by 2016 the median wage of graduates from institutions in the region was regularly much higher than the median wage offer of job vacancies in health care that year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/032118-nw-figure1_tcm1045-332265.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Regions of Employment, 24 months after graduation: public two-year state colleges (all degrees)&quot; alt=&quot;Regions of Employment, 24 months after graduation: public two-year state colleges (all degrees)&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;032118-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Such a high number of homegrown workers in Northwest Minnesota is a welcome development, but employers should not take them for granted. While Northwest Minnesota remains the top work location of public, two-year state college graduates in the region, other areas are upping their wages and developing programs to lure these workers away. In addition to the draw of the Twin Cities and North Dakota border cities, both the St. Cloud area and Duluth are making a push amid the tight labor market. Time will tell how successful they are, but regional employers may not want to wait to find out.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>332262</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:50Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Northwest Gender Pay Gap</Title><title>2018-02-27 Pay Gap ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-330365&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-02-27T18:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>In 2017, both WalletHub and the Institute on Women’s Policy Research came to the same conclusion: Minnesota is the best state for women to live and work.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In 2017, both &lt;a href=&quot;https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-women/10728/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;WalletHub&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a href=&quot;https://statusofwomendata.org/about/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Institute on Women&apos;s Policy Research&lt;/a&gt; came to the same conclusion: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/05/20/the-best-states-for-women-in-america-in-10-maps-and-charts/?utm_term=.e198214f4214&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota is the best state for women to live and work&lt;/a&gt;. They cite several reasons for the distinction, including economic and social well-being and health and safety; but despite that, data shows that a stubborn &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2017/gender-earnings-gap.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;gender wage gap&lt;/a&gt; persists across the state. According to the Census Bureau&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;American Community Survey&lt;/a&gt;, women in Minnesota have median incomes approximately 71 percent of what men earn, ranging from 51 percent in &lt;em&gt;agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting&lt;/em&gt; to 89 percent in &lt;em&gt;real estate and rental and leasing&lt;/em&gt;. Overall, the gender wage gap is even larger in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/regional-lmi/northwest-lmi.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;, where the earnings ratio was approximately 66 percent in 2016. Of course, without accounting for hours worked, age or education levels, these results lack some context.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Recently, DEED published a &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2017/gender-earnings-gap.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;statewide study of the gender wage gap&lt;/a&gt; in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Economic Trends&lt;/a&gt;, which took these variables into account. Focusing on &lt;em&gt;health care and social assistance&lt;/em&gt;, which is also the leading industry of employment in Northwest Minnesota, our research found the gender wage gap decreased when &apos;hours worked&apos; was taken into account. On the other hand, the gap &lt;em&gt;increased&lt;/em&gt; when adjusting for education levels, suggesting that &quot;women and men employed in health care and social assistance are rewarded differently for the same educational attainment.&quot; This month we&apos;ll look at whether the same trends exist in &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/regional-lmi/northwest-lmi.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;, where healthcare is also an influential industry and employs a high number of women.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest Minnesota, the American Community Survey shows that women&apos;s median annual earnings in &lt;em&gt;healthcare and social assistance&lt;/em&gt; was 71 percent of those for men in 2016 (Chart 1). Like the statewide study, it would be reasonable to expect the wage gap to decrease when accounting for hours worked. If men worked full-time more often, they would naturally earn more on average than women over time, all else being equal. However, when comparing those who work full-time, year-round, the wage gap increases, with women earning 65 percent of men annually.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/022718-nw-chart1_tcm1045-330368.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Median Annual Earnings by Gender, Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Median Annual Earnings by Gender, Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;022718-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Some of this can be explained by the difference in the type of healthcare jobs held by men and women. For example, the ACS shows that over 63 percent of men employed in healthcare occupations work in the highest-earning health diagnosing &amp;amp; treating practitioners category; compared to 42 percent of females (Table 1). Furthermore, females account for 92 percent of those employed in full-time, year-round healthcare support occupations in Northwest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/022718-nw-table1_tcm1045-330369.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Full-Time, Year Round Healthcare Occupations by Gender, Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Full-Time, Year Round Healthcare Occupations by Gender, Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;022718-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Whether the difference in jobs is enough to fully explain the gender wage gap in healthcare here is difficult to tell. After all, the healthcare and social assistance industry includes other occupations besides those which are specifically healthcare oriented, such as administrators, maintenance, and even accountants. However, one of DEED&apos;s newest data tools, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qed/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Employment Demographics&lt;/a&gt; (QED) shows that since the end of the recession, median hourly wages increased faster for women than for men in &lt;em&gt;healthcare and social assistance –&lt;/em&gt; so much so, wage rates in the industry were relatively even in 2016 (Chart 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/022718-nw-chart2_tcm1045-330370.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Median Hourly Wage by Gender, Healthcare and Social Assistance: Northwest Minnesota 2010 - 2016&quot; alt=&quot;Median Hourly Wage by Gender, Healthcare and Social Assistance: Northwest Minnesota 2010 - 2016&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;022718-nw-chart2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While this trend is obviously encouraging, both ACS and QED still show an overall gender pay gap in Northwest Minnesota and statewide. In &lt;em&gt;healthcare and social assistance&lt;/em&gt;, one of the most significant industries in Northwest Minnesota &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/Results.aspx?dataset=1&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&amp;amp;code=290000,310000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;that is projected to continue to grow&lt;/a&gt;, progress could affect change at multiple economic levels. For employers competing in a tight labor market, steps toward equal pay may help businesses thrive moving forward.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>330365</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:50Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Workforce Wanted</Title><title>2018-01-22 Workforce ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-325107&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2018-01-22T18:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Workers are in high demand in Northwest Minnesota – and have been for a while</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Workers are in high demand in Northwest Minnesota - and have been for a while. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; reported over 10,700 job openings in the second quarter of last year (Chart 1). This was the highest number recorded by DEED since the survey started in 2001. The consistent demand for workers is also leading to better wage offers in Northwest Minnesota, where the median offer was $13.04 per hour in the second quarter of 2017. Three years ago, when the total number of job vacancies in the region exceeded 10,000 for the first time, the median hourly wage offer was $10.18 - almost three dollars less. This is a remarkable change, when in comparison, it took from 2001 to 2013 for the median hourly wage in Northwest Minnesota to rise as much as it did from 2014 to 2017.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/012218-nw-chart1_tcm1045-325105.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Job Vacancies and Median Wage Offers, Northwest Minnesota 2001-2017&quot; alt=&quot;Job Vacancies and Median Wage Offers, Northwest Minnesota 2001-2017&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;012218-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These trends suggest employers in Northwest Minnesota are starting to raise wage offers to attract more workers. But public and private organizations throughout the region are also exploring other ways to draw more residents and workers to their communities. Regional marketing efforts like &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.livewideopen.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Live Wide Open&lt;/a&gt; in West Central and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thegoodlifenorthcentralmn.com/the-good-life&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Good Life&lt;/a&gt; in Region Five are connecting cities and town in their respective areas to communicate their positive attributes broadly. In other instances, business leaders are approaching the workforce shortage independently.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For its part, DEED is working to connect some of these efforts and align public and private strategies throughout the state. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn-careerforce-prod-files.s3.us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2020-07/strategy-consultants-map.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Workforce Strategy Consultants&lt;/a&gt; in each region are convening leadership from multiple sectors to share knowledge and develop best practices. In addition, the University of Minnesota&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.extension.umn.edu/community/about/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Center for Community Vitality&lt;/a&gt; is researching how communities are both attracting and integrating newcomers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The university&apos;s newcomer research builds on its landmark &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.extension.umn.edu/community/brain-gain/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Brain Gain&lt;/a&gt; study, which countered traditional beliefs that rural areas of Minnesota were in decline. Using a simple cohort analysis, the study showed that oftentimes, workers in their prime are moving to rural Minnesota more than they&apos;re moving out. Chart 2 uses a similar analysis to show that this trend remains evident in Northwest Minnesota, at least for residents in their thirties and early forties.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The simplified cohort analysis works like this: Those in the 25- to 29-year-old age group in 2011 would have aged five years by 2016, and would then be in the 30- to 34-year-old age group in 2016. If no one died and no one moved in or moved out, the 25- to 29-year-old cohort would remain the same size over time, providing an &apos;expected&apos; count of residents in their early thirties by 2016. However, the &apos;actual&apos; numbers in these age groups in 2016 were higher, showing significant in-migration during the five-year period. In this simplified analysis, the Census Bureau&apos;s American Community Survey data show that an estimated 2,422 more people 30 to 44 years of age moved to Northwest Minnesota than moved out.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/012218-nw-chart2_tcm1045-325106.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Migration Patterns by Age, Northwest Minnesota 2011-2016&quot; alt=&quot;Migration Patterns by Age, Northwest Minnesota 2011-2016&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;012218-nw-chart2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Armed with this knowledge, many communities are focusing on their strengths and developing programs with more emphasis on attracting adults in their thirties, many who bring experience and connections with them, not to mention families. So while retaining younger residents out of high school and college remains a priority, it&apos;s evident that newcomers to the region are generally older. This means that equal attention is being paid to qualities they look for, like public safety and access to childcare.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For regional employers, the work local communities and their regional partners are doing to advance their livability and appeal is a worthy cause. Ideally, they will find ways to address the record number of job vacancies in the region by welcoming new residents and making them feel at home.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>325107</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:49Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Small Business Success</Title><title>2017-12-12 Small Business ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-322226&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-12-12T18:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>To say small businesses are vital to Minnesota&apos;s economy is a major understatement.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To say small businesses are vital to Minnesota&apos;s economy is a major understatement. Small businesses are the primary source of employment statewide, and in Greater Minnesota they provide nearly 60 percent of all private-sector jobs. According to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.sba.gov/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;U.S. Small Business Administration&lt;/a&gt;, a small business employs fewer than 500 employees. Ninety-four percent of businesses in Minnesota are even smaller, employing less than fifty employees.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest Minnesota, small businesses &lt;em&gt;are&lt;/em&gt; the economy. In 2015, 99.9 percent of all businesses in the region fit the definition (based on number of employees), and small businesses account for two-thirds of area private-sector employment. Providing the other one-third of regional jobs, large employers in Northwest Minnesota play a pivotal role as well, but even they often started as small businesses. As the bread and butter of economic success, it is important to understand how small businesses were affected by the Great Recession, and how they may be affected by the demographic changes ahead.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121217-nw-table1_tcm1045-322223.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Employers by Size Class, 2015&quot; alt=&quot;Employers by Size Class, 2015&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121217-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite the difficult recessionary period, employment and average wages at small businesses increased in Northwest Minnesota from 2006-2016. Compared to other parts of the state, there are some unique trends found in the region. In essence, small businesses declined less and rebounded more slowly than other parts of the state from 2006-2016, but simultaneously increased wages at a higher rate (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;There is a stark contrast between trends in Northwest Minnesota and those in the Twin Cities Metro Area, where employment grew twice as fast but the increase in average monthly wages was much slower. This contrast is evident between all of Greater Minnesota and the metro area, but even more pronounced in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121217-nw-table2_tcm1045-322222.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2006-2016 Percent Change in Employment &amp;amp; Wages, Private Sector Small Businesses&quot; alt=&quot;2006-2016 Percent Change in Employment &amp;amp; Wages, Private Sector Small Businesses&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121217-nw-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Although employment grew faster in the Twin Cities metro area from 2006-2016, it also suffered greater losses during the recession. For example, from 2007-2009, employment at private-sector small businesses decreased 6.2 percent in the metro compared to only 3.0 percent in Northwest Minnesota (Chart 1). Not only did the recession hit small businesses in Northwest Minnesota less, but the effects were less immediate. The flip side was that the recovery took longer, even though it did not have as far to come back from. Together it appears that the metro area has been more susceptible to wider economic fluctuation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121217-nw-chart1_tcm1045-322225.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Private Sector Small Business Employment Trends&quot; alt=&quot;Private Sector Small Business Employment Trends&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121217-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As noted, average monthly earnings grew faster in Northwest Minnesota than the Twin Cities from 2006-2016 largely due to increases from 2007-2009, while metro area monthly earnings declined by nearly $100 during the economic downturn. Still, average monthly wages in Northwest Minnesota were approximately 64 percent of those in the metro area, despite growing at nearly twice the rate from 2006-2016 (Chart 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121217-nw-chart2_tcm1045-322224.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Full Quarter Employment Average Monthly Earnings, Private Sector Small Businesses&quot; alt=&quot;Full Quarter Employment Average Monthly Earnings, Private Sector Small Businesses&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121217-nw-chart2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>322226</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:48Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Life Support: Assessing Declining Industries</Title><title>2017-11-27 Life Support ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-319798&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-11-27T18:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Following our recent analysis of industry clusters in Northwest Minnesota, this month’s blog post looks closer at ‘declining’ industries in our region.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Following our &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/304605&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;recent analysis of industry clusters in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;, this month’s blog post looks closer at ‘declining’ industries in our region. Unfortunately, a couple dozen industries have lost momentum in Northwest Minnesota, and some have fallen off the radar of public or private organizations working to develop the economy. Despite shedding almost 1,100 jobs since 2011, these ‘declining’ industries are still very important. In 2016 they accounted for over 16 percent of regional jobs, employing over 36,000 workers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Determining industry clusters in a regional economy has been an important tool of regional planners and policy makers for decades. Regional industry clusters show communities the nuance of their economies, identify economic changes, and even suggest how a community might adapt to them. In particular, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://books.google.com/books/about/Planning_Local_Economic_Development.html?id=XGOspT2j_WoC&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Blakely and Green-Leigh quadrant method&lt;/a&gt; (Figure 1) clusters industry sectors by how well they withstand economic fluctuation. This method is unique in that it offers a matrix of sustainability, categorizing regional industries by their adaptation to economic change over time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In this method, regional industries are grouped into four quadrants: transforming, growing, emerging, and declining, based on both the local concentration of, and competition for, employment from 2011-2016. The combined analysis of these two factors produces a more detailed approach to industry clusters, rather than those produced by supply chain models or employment concentration alone. For example, regional planners may be interested to know that larger employing industry sectors like &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag624.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;social assistance&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag238.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;specialty trade contractors&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag522.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;credit intermediation and related activities&lt;/a&gt; suffered through local factors that led to a lower concentration of jobs in the industry today than they provided five years ago, landing it in the ‘declining’ quadrant cluster.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091817-nw-figure1_tcm1045-319800.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Quadrant Analysis Method of Regional Industry Clusters Image&quot; alt=&quot;Quadrant Analysis Method of Regional Industry Clusters Image&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091817-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As noted above, industries in this quadrant are less concentrated in the region than the state overall, and experienced locally-driven employment losses from 2011-2016. ‘Locally driven’ is determined by dissecting industrial employment change with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.economicmodeling.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;shift-share analysis&lt;/a&gt;. In this case, regional employment changes are compared against those at the state level. In general, ‘declining’ industries are not large sources of regional employment, with 19 of these 26 sectors providing fewer than 1,000 jobs in the region; and the employment loss from 2011-2016 was often greater in the region than the state on average. Table 1 outlines the 3- and 4-digit NAICS sectors that meet this criteria.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/112717-nw-table1_tcm1045-319803.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table of Data - Declining Industries, NW Minnesota, 3 and 4 digit NAICS Sectors&quot; alt=&quot;Table of Data - Declining Industries, NW Minnesota, 3 and 4 digit NAICS Sectors&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;112717-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, that does not mean these industries are irrelevant in Northwest Minnesota. In some cases, the lack of competition may be an opportunity for startups to re-engage the market. In others, employment losses may be a result of non-economic factors having an effect. Ambulatory Health Care Services is a good example of a declining industry in Northwest Minnesota that remains essential. Much of the employment change was due to employment coding changes into the Hospitals subsector; and as a mostly rural area with an older population, health care in Northwest Minnesota is often provided by Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), which mostly offer the kind of outpatient services that ambulatory care represents. While the demand for these services remains high, hiring medical professionals has been increasingly more difficult in rural Minnesota as the labor market tightens. In addition, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.startribune.com/safety-net-clinics-in-minnesota-face-loss-of-federal-funds/437073203/#1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;state and federal health care funding has fluctuated since 2011 and remains subject to change&lt;/a&gt;. Understanding its recent peril shows rural residents and lawmakers the current challenges in rural health care, particularly ambulatory health care services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In other cases, the ‘declining’ industries were actually seeing employment growth, but not keeping pace with the rest of the state. For example, specialty trade contractors gained 635 net new jobs from 2011 to 2016, a 14.7 percent increase, but the state saw 28.3 percent growth in that sector. Six other industry sectors also saw job growth but were classified as ‘declining’ industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The industries that were seeing the biggest challenges included furniture and related product manufacturing (which includes kitchen cabinet manufacturing); credit intermediation and related activities (which includes banks, credit unions, and other mortgage and loan brokerages); and publishing industries, which all saw major job losses in the past five years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>319798</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:47Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Serving Those Who Have Served</Title><title>2017-10-27 Veterans ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-317109&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-10-27T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Only 5.2 percent of Minnesota veterans had income below the poverty level in 2016, four percent less than the general population.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Veterans in Minnesota bring leadership and a variety of skills to the workforce and their communities. In 2016 there were about 311,000 veterans living in Minnesota, and like the population as a whole, a growing number from the baby boom generation are aging out of the workforce. About three-fourths of Minnesota veterans served before 1990, and less than 50 percent of all Minnesota veterans participate in the labor force today.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;An aging population with changes in income can often be more vulnerable to poverty. However, veterans and their support networks appear to be managing the transition well. Only 5.2 percent of Minnesota veterans had income below the poverty level in 2016, four percent less than the general population (Chart 1). Any number of Minnesota veterans living in poverty is too many, but public and private support for veteran health care, education, and employment is addressing these challenges. In addition to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/mdva/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs&lt;/a&gt;, organizations like the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mac-v.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans&lt;/a&gt; (MACV) and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon create a statewide network of support.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/102717-nw-chart1_tcm1045-317110.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Percent of Population with Income below the Poverty Level: Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Percent of Population with Income below the Poverty Level: Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;102717-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It&apos;s well documented that the physical and mental effects of serving in the military can extend well past a veteran&apos;s time in uniform. Veterans are over twice as likely as nonveterans to report a disability in Minnesota, and disability also appears to be prevalent among veterans living in poverty. Among veterans with income below the poverty level in 2016, nearly 40 percent reported having a disability (Chart 2). Not only does this create a long-term reliance on health care services for many veterans, it adds to employment challenges. Given that a large proportion of veterans are approaching retirement, the prevalence of disabilities among these veterans may be facilitating a faster exodus from the labor force.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/102717-nw-chart2_tcm1045-317111.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Percent of Population with Income below the Poverty Level with a Disability: Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Percent of Population with Income below the Poverty Level with a Disability: Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;102717-nw-chart2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Regional and Statewide Support&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;When meeting a veteran, we are often inclined to thank them for their service and sacrifice. But sometimes more than words are needed to truly express our collective gratitude. Military service includes being away from home for an extended period of time, and veterans are asked to divert energy away from their family and civilian careers. For those returning to civilian life, the transition back can seem daunting.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Many business and workforce services focus on veterans with and without disabilities. In Northwest Minnesota, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.dav.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Disabled American Veterans&lt;/a&gt; (DAV) has chapters in Bemidji, Brainerd, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, and Park Rapids. &lt;a href=&quot;https://bunkerlabs.org/minneapolis/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Bunker Labs Minneapolis&lt;/a&gt; provides entrepreneurial resources for veterans by veterans. And of course, DEED helps both &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/veteran-services/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;veterans&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/disabilities/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;people with disabilities&lt;/a&gt; all over the state get back to work. Ultimately, no veteran should be living in poverty. This Veterans Day make sure those in your community know what resources are available to help them live the life they deserve.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Chet Bodin at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;chet.bodin@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>317109</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:47Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>2017 Manufacturing Highlights</Title><title>2017-10-02 Manufacturing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-313235&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-10-02T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>The manufacturing industry provided 28,471 jobs at 795 business establishments, making it the second largest industry in the region in terms of employment.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/mn-manufacturin_24866098_tcm1045-313102.png&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Region Manufacturing Highlights&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Region Manufacturing Highlights&quot; style=&quot;width: 40%;&quot; class=&quot;photoRightNoBorder&quot; xlink:title=&quot;northwest&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;In Northwest Minnesota, the manufacturing industry provided 28,471 jobs at 795 business establishments, making it the second largest industry in the region in terms of employment, behind only health care and social assistance. Manufacturing accounted for 13 percent of total employment in Northwest Minnesota, compared to 11.3 percent for the state as a whole.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;From 2011 to 2016, manufacturers in Northwest Minnesota added over 2,000 net new jobs, an increase of 7.6 percent. That made it the largest growing industry in the region, accounting for almost one-fifth (18.5 percent) of the region&apos;s total job growth from 2011 to 2016. Manufacturing gained over 700 more jobs than the next largest growing industry in the region, construction.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With just over 5,700 jobs, food manufacturing is the largest manufacturing subsector in Northwest Minnesota, but the region also has significant operations in transportation equipment manufacturing (4,244 jobs), fabricated metal products (3,899 jobs), machinery manufacturing (3,677 jobs), and wood product manufacturing (3,444 jobs). These five sectors accounted for almost 74 percent of the manufacturing jobs in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturing is one of the highest paying industries in the region. Total payroll in manufacturing was approximately $1.35 billion in 2016, accounting for 16.2 percent of total wages paid in Northwest Minnesota. Average annual wages in manufacturing in the region were $47,571 in 2016. That was 25.1 percent higher than average annual wages across all industries in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, this was the lowest average annual wage in manufacturing of the six planning areas in the state, and over $16,000 less per year than the average annual wages for the manufacturing industry statewide. This is partly due to a slower wage growth in Northwest Minnesota manufacturing since 2013. Average annual wages in manufacturing grew at 7.1 percent statewide since 2013, compared to 5.3 percent in the Northwest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Spotlight: Industry Shifts in Manufacturing&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In the Northwest planning area, manufacturing accounted for 13 percent of total employment, and over 16 percent of the total wages paid, in 2016. But, economic changes over the past decade have had varying effects on different parts of the manufacturing industry – some subsectors have thrived while others have needed to adjust. These effects can be seen statistically by applying the &lt;a href=&quot;https://books.google.com/books/about/Planning_Local_Economic_Development.html?id=XGOspT2j_WoC&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Blakely and Green-Leigh quadrant method&lt;/a&gt; (see Figure 1). This method is unique; it offers a matrix of sustainability and categorizes regional industries by their response to economic fluctuations over time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091817-northwest-figure1_tcm1045-313236.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Quadrant Analysis Method of Regional Industry Clusters&quot; alt=&quot;Quadrant Analysis Method of Regional Industry Clusters&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091817-northwest-figure1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Blakely and Green-Leigh cluster industries into four quadrants: transforming, growing, emerging and declining. Placement is based on both the local concentration of, and competition for, employment from 2011 to 2016. For example, despite a low concentration of jobs in Northwest Minnesota, the chemical manufacturing subsector has had significant locally driven employment gains since 2011, landing it in the &quot;emerging&quot; quadrant cluster.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&quot;Locally competitive&quot; is determined by dissecting employment growth with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.economicmodeling.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;shift-share analysis&lt;/a&gt;. In our breakdown, regional employment changes are compared against those at the state level. Manufacturing subsectors with positive regional shift-share growth land in both the &quot;growing&quot; and &quot;emerging&quot; quadrants, depending on their local concentration. As opposed to emerging subsectors with low regional concentration, like chemical manufacturing, &quot;growing&quot; industries are highly concentrated in regional employment. These manufacturing sectors are major pillars of the regional economy and continue to develop employment locally. They include such sectors as machinery manufacturing, primary metal manufacturing, textile product mills and nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/091817-northwest-table1_tcm1045-313237.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Industry Cluster Quadrant Analysis, Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Industry Cluster Quadrant Analysis, Northwest Minnesota Manufacturing&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xlink:title=&quot;091817-northwest-table1&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Industries with high employment concentrations that slowed hiring from 2011 to 2016 are considered &quot;transforming&quot; industry subsectors. There could be a variety of reasons these industries are in a state of transformation. But given their relative size in Northwest Minnesota, their response to economic change is very important to the regional economy overall and, for whatever reasons, they have been forced to slow and adapt.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest Minnesota, there are four manufacturing subsectors with location quotients greater than 1.00 that had no locally driven employment gains from 2011 to 2016. Among them, transportation equipment manufacturing had the third highest location quotient in 2016 of any three-digit NAICS sector in the region. The subsector showed a regional concentration of jobs five times higher than the industry statewide, thanks in part to major regional employers such as &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.arcticcat.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Arctic Cat&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.polaris.com/en-us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Polaris&lt;/a&gt;. However, regional employment growth from 2011 to 2016 was only 1.9 percent – less than half the rate statewide. During the same period, transportation equipment manufacturing employment grew 4.4 percent statewide, signaling that the industry has not been as competitive in Northwest Minnesota recently.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Finally, some manufacturing subsectors have had negative regional shift-share, or no locally-driven employment growth, and also have low regional concentrations of employment. Employment in furniture and related product manufacturing fell by 293 jobs from 2011 to 2016, but it still has maintained some regional presence with 877 jobs remaining. After losing 22 jobs over the past five years, apparel manufacturing had just 16 jobs left in the region. These industries are facing significant challenges in today&apos;s economy, particularly in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given that the manufacturing industry can be subject to economic shifts, changes in the industry are inevitable.  Regional industry clusters show the nuance of local economies, identify economic changes, and even suggest how a community might adapt to them. Ideally, gauging how different sectors respond to economic change over time will give employers and policymakers the insight to respond appropriately.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Chet Bodin at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;chet.bodin@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>313235</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:46Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Regional Workforce Evolution</Title><title>2017-08-21 Retirement ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-310227&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-08-21T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>With retirements on the rise, Northwest employers face succession planning and employment challenges.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;After adding new data on population, labor force, and industry employment changes, DEED&apos;s Regional Analysis and Outreach Unit released updated &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/regional-lmi/northwest-lmi.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2017 Regional Profiles&lt;/a&gt; in August. These annual publications outline a variety of demographic, labor market, and economic information and analysis for each planning region and economic development region (EDR) of the state. The 2017 Regional Profile for Northwest Minnesota outlines several significant changes the region&apos;s economy experienced over the past year. Here are a few changes that stood out, including major demographic changes, labor market shifts and employment trends.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Labor Market Shifts&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Although the aging of the baby boomer generation has had statewide effects on the labor market, those changes are being felt most in rural parts of the state such as the Northwest, where the makeup of the population is weighted more heavily in older age groups. In Northwest Minnesota, over one-third of the population (34.3%) is over 55 years of age, compared to 28.6 percent statewide (Figure 1). Not only is the proportion of older residents higher in Northwest Minnesota – it is increasing at a rapid rate. As a result, retirements appear to be on the rise in Northwest Minnesota, leading employers to spend more time and energy on succession planning and employment challenges.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082117-nw-figure1_tcm1045-310228.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Chart of Percentage of Population by Age Group 2016&quot; alt=&quot;Chart of Percentage of Population by Age Group 2016&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082117-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Although the exit of baby boomers from the labor market will continue to challenge regional planners and employers, Northwest Minnesota is still expected to add 8,500 workers 20 to 44 years of age. Ideally, these labor market entrants will be able to fill several replacement openings that regional employers choose to fill. Applying current labor force participation rates to future population projections from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/admin/demography/data-by-topic/population-data/our-projections/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota State Demographic Center&lt;/a&gt; shows how the region&apos;s workforce might change in the next decade (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082117-nw-table1_tcm1045-310234.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table of Northwest Minnesota Labor Force Projections by age in 2020 and 2030&quot; alt=&quot;Table of Northwest Minnesota Labor Force Projections by age in 2020 and 2030&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082117-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite the new entrants in the younger age groups, the regional labor force is still projected to contract by 2.0 percent, or over 5,700 workers. As a result, employers must continue to decide whether to increase regional recruitment efforts, or adjust to the new normal. Within the region, it appears that EDR 1 - Northwest will suffer the biggest loss in labor force supply, where it is projected to shrink by 4.8 percent from 2020 to 2030. EDR 5 - North Central is expected to lose over 2,000 workers, a 2.6 percent decline, and EDR 4 - West Central may lose 1,336 workers, a 1.1 percent drop. EDR 2 - Headwaters, on the other hand, is projected to remain relatively steady, decreasing by only 0.1 percent through 2030. Although this will make hiring easier in EDR 2 than in other parts of Northwest Minnesota, the labor market loss is still a significant change from the steady growth the region has enjoyed over the past couple decades.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employment Trends&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even with the tight labor market conditions, Northwest Minnesota&apos;s economy continued growing in 2016. For the second straight year, the region added jobs at a 0.6 percent clip, a gain of just under 1,300 jobs in the past year. Interestingly, three of the four economic development regions added more jobs in 2016 than the year before, but in EDR 1 – Northwest, employment shrunk by 1.5 percent (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082117-nw-table2_tcm1045-310229.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Table of Northwest Industry Employment Statistics 2016&quot; alt=&quot;Table of Northwest Industry Employment Statistics 2016&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082117-nw-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It&apos;s less clear whether the employment loss in EDR 1 was intentional, or simply the result of changes in the regional labor supply. Job vacancies in EDR 1 were down by 39 percent in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the year before, &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; the labor force shrunk by more than 200 workers. This seems to indicate that as workers left the labor market in EDR 1, local employers did not attempt to replace them as often as in other regions – at least during the first half of 2016. In the second half of the year, regional job vacancies soared to the highest number ever for EDR 1. Despite the hiring push, EDR 1 sustained a net employment loss. The upcoming second quarter of 2017 &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt;, which will be released this fall, should indicate whether employers in EDR 1 are going to continue soliciting workers at a high rate, or slow hiring in an attempt to regroup and adjust to labor force changes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In contrast, job growth in EDR 2- Headwaters increased strongly in 2016, and it became the only EDR in the Northwest planning area to exceed the statewide growth rate. As with EDR 1, regional demographics may be influencing this shift as well. In addition to a higher than average proportion of residents over 55 years of age, EDR 2 also has a higher proportion of people aged 15 to 24 who are just entering the labor market. Because of this, regional employers may be able to replace older workers who exit the labor force with new workers much more easily.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employment changes in 2016 also varied by industry in Northwest Minnesota. After a period of job decline, health care and social assistance bounced back in 2016, adding over 550 net new jobs – a 1.5 percent increase. In addition, retail trade, educational services, accommodation and food services, and construction each added over 100 jobs since 2015. Industries that lost the most jobs included information (-88 jobs), manufacturing (-140 jobs), wholesale trade (-344 jobs), and administrative support and waste management services (-427 jobs), which most notably includes temporary staffing agencies (Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/082117-nw-figure2_tcm1045-310232.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Chart of Numeric Change in Jobs in Industry in Northwest Minnesota 2015-2016&quot; alt=&quot;Chart of Numeric Change in Jobs in Industry in Northwest Minnesota 2015-2016&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;082117-nw-figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The 2017 Regional Profile for Northwest Minnesota is available on the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/regional-lmi/northwest-lmi.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Regional Labor Market&lt;/a&gt; webpage, along with profiles for each Economic Development Region in the planning area. County profiles are also available upon request by contacting &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>310227</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:46Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Innovation and Sustainability</Title><title>2017-07-17 Innovative ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304605&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-07-17T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Employers in manufacturing, transportation and corporate management use innovative techniques and technology to increase capacity and add workers.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Through the #InnovateMN campaign, DEED has highlighted the contributions of Minnesota&apos;s innovation economy and connected the next generation of entrepreneurs to available resources. In this blog post, we acknowledge the businesses and organizations shaping the economic future and adding viability to the regional job market. Continuing &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/301261&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;our recent analysis of industry clusters in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;, this month&apos;s post looks closer at &apos;emerging&apos; industries in our region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Innovation may not be the only reason these industries are blossoming in Northwest Minnesota, but it certainly plays an important role. A variety of employers, including those in manufacturing, transportation, and corporate management are using innovative techniques and technology to increase capacity and add employment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As described &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/301261&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;last month&lt;/a&gt;, determining industry clusters in a regional economy has been an important tool of regional planners and policy makers for decades. Regional industry clusters show communities the nuance of their economies, identify economic changes, and even suggest how a community might adapt to them. In particular, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://books.google.com/books/about/Planning_Local_Economic_Development.html?id=XGOspT2j_WoC&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Blakely and Green-Leigh quadrant method&lt;/a&gt; (Figure 1) clusters industry sectors by how well they withstand economic fluctuation. This method is unique in that it offers a matrix of sustainability, categorizing regional industries by their adaptation to economic change over time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In this method, regional industries are grouped into four quadrants: transforming, growing, emerging and declining, based on both the local concentration of, and competition for, employment from 2011 to 2016. The combined analysis of these two factors produces a more detailed approach to industry clusters, rather than those produced by supply chain models or employment concentration alone. For example, regional planners may be interested to know that, despite a low concentration of jobs in Northwest Minnesota, the &lt;em&gt;Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing&lt;/em&gt; has had significant, locally-driven employment gains since 2011, landing it in the &apos;emerging&apos; quadrant cluster.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/071717-nw-figure1_tcm1045-304603.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Quadrant Analysis Method of Regional Industry Clusters&quot; alt=&quot;Quadrant Analysis Method of Regional Industry Clusters&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;071717-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Innovation in Minnesota offers an ideal platform to highlight the &quot;emerging&quot; quadrant. Viewed by location quotient, these industries do not appear to be influential in Northwest Minnesota – but something is happening within them that demands attention.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Market forces, including innovative technology and practices, have made them locally competitive, and an important part of the region&apos;s economic future. &apos;Locally competitive&apos; is determined by dissecting employment growth with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.economicmodeling.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;shift-share analysis&lt;/a&gt;. In this case, regional employment changes are compared against those at the state level. While &apos;emerging&apos; industries are not typically large sources of regional employment, their employment growth from 2011 to 2016 was often greater than the state and industry average. Table 1 outlines the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;3 and 4-digit NAICS sectors&lt;/a&gt; that meet this criteria.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/071717-nw-table1_tcm1045-304604.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Northwest Minnesota &amp;quot;Emerging&amp;quot; Industries, 3- and 4-digit NAICS Sectors&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Northwest Minnesota &amp;quot;Emerging&amp;quot; Industries, 3- and 4-digit NAICS Sectors&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;071717-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Communities in Northwest Minnesota may seek to understand how innovation is addressing the unique social and economic challenges they face. In particular, &lt;em&gt;workforce innovation&lt;/em&gt; improves the regional economy by helping residents improve their skills, and generate solutions at home and work. Though relatively small, these &apos;emerging&apos; industries may hold one key to helping the region continue to prosper.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Companies such as &lt;a href=&quot;http://atekcompanies.com/access-technologies&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;ATEK Access Technologies&lt;/a&gt;, an electronics manufacturer near Brainerd that designs data sharing technology and products, lead through technical &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; workforce innovation that helps the region maintain a competitive edge. &quot;We are constantly seeking and developing employees with new and innovative skills, who are encouraged to take risks and drive the industry forward,&quot; said Vice President Julie Mork.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For regional planners, this is an important point. Weathering economic change means supporting local workers who reshape the regional economy by constantly developing their skillsets. As a result, workforce innovation improves the sustainability of jobs and communities, diversifies the economy and builds for tomorrow.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Chet Bodin at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;chet.bodin@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304605</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:45Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Regional Resilience</Title><title>2017-06-23 Regional Resilience ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-301261&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-06-23T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers, and Industry Transformation.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Determining industry clusters in a regional economy has been an important tool of planners and policymakers for decades. Regional industry clusters show communities the nuance of their economies, identify trends, and even suggest how a community might adapt to them. In particular, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://books.google.com/books?id=XGOspT2j_WoC&amp;amp;pg=PA186&amp;amp;dq=blakely+green+leigh+quadrant+location+quotient&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;sa=X&amp;amp;ved=0ahUKEwix586b1tTUAhUixoMKHTzXAZUQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&amp;amp;q=blakely%20green%20leigh%20quadrant%20location%20quotient&amp;amp;f=false&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Blakely and Green-Leigh quadrant method&lt;/a&gt; (Figure 1) clusters industry sectors by how well they withstand economic fluctuation. This method is unique in that it offers a matrix of sustainability, categorizing regional industries by their adaptation to economic change over time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In this method, regional industries are grouped into four quadrants – transforming, growing, emerging and declining – based on both the local concentration of and change in employment from 2011 to 2016. The combined analysis of these two factors produces a unique approach to industry clusters, rather than those produced by employment concentration alone. For example, despite a high concentration of jobs in Northwest Minnesota and recent job growth, the Transportation Equipment Manufacturing industry has trailed the state in employment gains since 2011, landing in the ‘transforming’ quadrant.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/062317-nw-figure1_tcm1045-301262.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Quadrant Analysis Method of Regional Industry Clusters&quot; alt=&quot;Quadrant Analysis Method of Regional Industry Clusters&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;062317-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Future &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Local Look&lt;/a&gt; blog posts will focus on these quadrants and the industries they identify in Northwest Minnesota. This month, the ‘transforming’ quadrant is highlighted. Transforming industries are highly concentrated in a region as measured by &lt;a href=&quot;https://data.bls.gov/cew/doc/info/location_quotients.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;location quotient&lt;/a&gt;, but have not been locally competitive during the time period researched. ‘Locally competitive’ is determined by dissecting employment growth with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.economicmodeling.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;shift-share analysis&lt;/a&gt;. In our analysis, regional employment changes are compared against those at the state level rather than the national level.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While transforming industries are often large sources of regional employment, their employment growth from 2011-2016 was often less than the state average, or they suffered job declines. Combined, these industries provided almost 75,000 regional jobs in 2016, accounting for just over one-third of total regional employment. Given the relative size of the transforming industries, their response to economic change is very important to the regional economy overall and, for whatever reasons, they haven’t been able to keep pace.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest Minnesota, there were 16 industry subsectors with location quotients greater than or equal to 1.10 that had no locally-driven employment gains from 2011 to 2016. Among them, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing had the highest location quotient of any three-digit NAICS sector in the region in 2016, at 4.95. This shows a regional concentration of jobs five times stronger than statewide, thanks in part to major local employers such as Arctic Cat and Polaris. However, employment growth from 2011 to 2016 was only 1.9 percent in the region – less than half the growth rate statewide – signaling that the industry has not been as competitive in Northwest Minnesota lately.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Interestingly, while most transforming industries actually experienced positive job growth in Northwest Minnesota from 2011 to 2016, they were outpaced by statewide shifts rather than local factors. For example, shift-share analysis indicates that regional Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers expanded by 12.3 percent in Northwest Minnesota, but statewide job growth in the industry totaled 15.5 percent. Despite the region’s rapid growth, the regional competitive shift turned out to be negative. Ten of the 16 transforming industries saw the same phenomenon (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/062317-nw-table1_tcm1045-301263.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Transforming Industries&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Transforming Industries&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;062317-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;There could be a variety of reasons that these industries are in a state of transformation. This invites more research into the factors mitigating local employment growth. Northwest Minnesota communities may seek to work with transforming-industry employers to better understand the challenges they face, and explore how they all might adapt to new economic norms and be more competitive in today’s economy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Chet Bodin at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;chet.bodin@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>301261</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:44Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Job Requirements Are Loosening</Title><title>2017-05-12 Job Requirements ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-295430&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-05-12T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Some employers are loosening their job requirements – and increasing their wages – to attract applicants.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The number of job vacancies has tripled since 2010 and continues to grow, but the composition has changed in many occupation groups. Many Northwest employers are adjusting their job requirements and wage levels to fill regional openings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED’s Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt;, employers reported more job openings in the second half of 2016 than any fourth quarter survey on record, with an increase of over 6,000 vacancies since the same period in 2010. However, while vacancies increased in every job category since 2010, the same cannot be said over the past year. Despite an overall increase of 731 job vacancies between the fourth quarter surveys of 2015 and 2016, there were over 50 less vacancies in education, training and library occupations; health care support; food preparation and serving; construction and extraction; and installation, maintenance and repair. On the positive side, the fourth quarter 2016 report showed over a hundred more openings in health care practitioner occupations; building and grounds cleaning; personal care and service; and sales occupations (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/051217-nw-table1_tcm1045-295431.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancy Survey Results&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Job Vacancy Survey Results&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;051217-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In some cases, the makeup of job openings has shifted, creating changes in wage offers and requirements. Health Care Practitioners and Technical Occupations are a good example. While the number of these vacancies increased between the fourth quarters of 2015 and 2016, the majority of them were in technical jobs, such as LPNs, EMTs and paramedics.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Median wage offers actually went up over time for both technicians and practitioners; but the huge jump in technician openings, which earn lower wages than practitioner jobs, made the median wage appear to go down overall.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In the last year, the largest median wage offer increase was for protective service jobs, thanks to the addition of law enforcement vacancies that weren’t posted in previous years. The median offer for transportation and material moving occupations also increased significantly in 2016, where job offers for motor vehicle operators were up by over $9.00 per hour since the prior year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Some employers have adjusted job requirements to attract applicants. While the percentage of vacancies requiring related work experience has mostly stayed the same since 2010, the percentage of vacancies requiring post-secondary education has been declining.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For example, employers hiring for life, physical and social science occupations required a bachelor’s degree or higher less often in 2016 than the year before, seeking applicants with no more than a high school degree much more often. Since the recession, management vacancies have followed the same trend, requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher 31 percent less often today than in 2010. Conversely, employers are now looking for personal care and service workers with an associate degree or vocational training more often in 2016.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, job requirements for both experience and post-secondary education decreased by about 10 percent since 2010, with some variation throughout the years (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/051217-nw-chart1_tcm1045-295432.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Job Vacancy Requirements, Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Job Vacancy Requirements, Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;051217-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Chet Bodin at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;chet.bodin@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>295430</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:44Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Hard Hats Ahead Part 2</Title><title>2017-04-17 Hard Hats Part 2 ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-290777&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-04-17T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Get ready to trade winter hats and boots for hard hats and tool belts. The construction industry may add over 1,400 new jobs in the next decade, a 14 percent growth rate. Projected growth of the construction industry should lead to steady demand for new workers in the next decade.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/285930&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Part 1 of Hard Hats Ahead&lt;/a&gt; looked at the seasonal nature and annual fluctuations of the construction industry in Northwest Minnesota. With an annual average of about 10,800 jobs at about 2,100 establishments in 2015, construction was the eighth largest industry, but also had the second largest number of employers, behind retail trade. Construction is projected to be both the third fastest and third largest growing sector in Northwest Minnesota over the next decade. Only health care and social assistance rank ahead in both categories of growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Though the work will remain seasonal, this projected growth should lead to steady demand for new workers in the next 10 years. According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/Results.aspx?dataset=1&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&amp;amp;code=471000,471011,472000,472031,472051,472061,472071,472073,472111,472151,472152,472181,472211,474000,474011,474051,474071,475000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED’s Employment Outlook tool&lt;/a&gt;, all but one construction occupation is expected to see new job growth in the region during the decade, including six occupations projected to grow more than 10 percent (Table 1):&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/042117-nw-table1_tcm1045-290781.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Employment Projections for Construction Occupations&quot; alt=&quot;Employment Projections for Construction Occupations&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;042117-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;All of these occupations pay relatively high wages. All but one – construction laborers – have higher median hourly wages than the total of all occupations in the region, and 10 of the 14 jobs earn more than $20 an hour at the median.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite the high wages, educational requirements for most of these jobs were relatively low – most can be gained with a high school diploma and on-the-job training. Some benefit from vocational training or apprenticeships, such as first-line supervisors, masons, carpenters, electricians and plumbers, but most skills are learned on-the-job (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/042117-nw-table2_tcm1045-290784.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Wages and Education Requirements for Construction Occupations&quot; alt=&quot;Wages and Education Requirements for Construction Occupations&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;042117-nw-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For more on construction careers that are building up in Northwest Minnesota, contact Chet Bodin at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;chet.bodin@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>290777</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:44Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Hard Hats Ahead</Title><title>2017-03-17 Hard Hats ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-285930&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-03-17T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Get ready to trade winter hats and boots for hard hats and tool belts. The construction industry may add over 1,400 new jobs in the next decade, a 14 percent growth rate. 
</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As the weather warms up, many workers are ready to trade winter hats and boots for hard hats and tool belts. Once spring starts, so does construction season – and construction employers have a major impact in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Data from DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/qcew/AreaSel.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Quarterly Census of Employment &amp;amp; Wages&lt;/a&gt; program shows that construction industry hiring in Northwest Minnesota is extremely seasonal, fluctuating between a low of 8,500 jobs in the first quarter to a recent peak of almost 12,700 jobs in the third quarter of the past year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to seasonal ups and downs, construction employers have also weathered some serious annual ebbs and flows over the past 15 years. Payrolls built up quickly from 2001 to 2004 as the regional housing market was red hot, then started to decline with the housing bubble that burst in 2006. Construction employment fell to a low point in 2010 as the economy struggled to recover from the Great Recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The region has seemingly returned to a point of stability now, with construction employers recording just over 12,600 employees in the third quarter in each of the past three years. Interestingly, the 12,689 jobs reported in the third quarter of 2016 was nearly identical to the number of jobs posted in the third quarter of 2001, before the housing bubble build-up (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/031717-nw-figure1_tcm1045-285933.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Construction Industry Employment Trends&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Construction Industry Employment Trends&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;031717-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;With an annual average of about 10,800 jobs at about 2,100 establishments in 2015, construction was the eighth largest industry in Northwest Minnesota, but also had the second largest number of employers, behind only retail trade. Most construction employers are small businesses, averaging about five employees per establishment, compared to about 13 employees per business across all industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition, the region was home to 6,130 self-employed construction workers, according to data from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.census.gov/econ/overview/mu0500.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;U.S. Census Bureau’s Nonemployer Statistics&lt;/a&gt; program. These nonemployers reported sales of nearly $360 million in 2014. However, like covered employment, the number of self-employed construction workers in the region also declined over the past decade, falling from 7,349 nonemployers in 2004.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The region’s recent economic recovery has led to positive projections for the construction industry. Construction is projected to be the third fastest and third largest growing sector in Northwest Minnesota over the next decade, with only health care and social assistance ranking ahead of it in both categories of growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;If these projections remain accurate, the construction industry may add just over 1,400 new jobs in the next decade, a 14 percent growth rate that is more than three times faster than the regional projected growth rate across all industries. Job gains are expected to be spread across the various construction subsectors, with the biggest expansion occurring in heavy and civil engineering construction, followed by specialty trade contractors, with the smallest gain logged in construction of buildings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/031717-nw-figure2_tcm1045-285934.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Construction Industry Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Construction Industry Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;031717-nw-figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Part 2 of Hard Hats Ahead will look at the occupations in demand in the construction industry in Northwest Minnesota, many of which are high paying and expected to be fast growing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact Chet Bodin at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;chet.bodin@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>285930</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:42Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Moore’s Law and Rural Broadband</Title><title>2017-02-28 Moore&apos;s Law ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-282282&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-02-28T18:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Plenty of room left for investment in broadband infrastructure in Northwest Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Broadband infrastructure continues to be a regular topic of discussion, particularly after DEED’s recent recommendation to the legislature that $100 million be allocated this year for the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/grant-program/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Border-to-Border Broadband grant program&lt;/a&gt;. Since 2014, this program has been a primary conduit for broadband development in rural Minnesota, funneling over $65 million across the state to encourage broadband investment in underserved areas eager to keep pace with the rapid increase in technological capacity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The extent of technology advancement is illustrated by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mooreslaw.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Moore’s Law&lt;/a&gt;, which would say that computing power has more than doubled since the Border-to-Border grant program was established! A blog from the Business Learning Institute points out “that computers today are about 130,000 times more powerful than they were in 1988,” meaning “that an iPad mini is as powerful as the world’s biggest supercomputer in 1985.” Broadband infrastructure is a key input that local businesses can use to unlock the growing value in communications, transactions and innovation that modern computing is creating.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Though gains have been made, there is still plenty of room for investment in broadband infrastructure in Northwest Minnesota. In &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/detail/appId/1/id/274081&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;last month’s Local Look blog&lt;/a&gt;, we speculated how investments might lead to more job growth in computer-related occupations. But this potential depends on how well education and workforce development programs build and align the skills that these future jobs will require. Modern computing is more user friendly than ever, and has the potential to make every worker more productive. But some industries will require more workers with computing skills to leverage Moore’s Law, and their leadership may drive local communities to make computing skills highly accessible, now and in the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For example, industries such as Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Information, Management of Companies, and Finance and Insurance rely on computer programmers, network architects, and other computer-related occupations more than others. Chart 1 shows the industries in Minnesota that employ at least 1 percent of their workforce in computer-related occupations. On average, 3.2 percent of the Minnesota economy is composed of these type of jobs, and several industries, including those above and others that are very important to Northwest Minnesota, have a higher concentration of computer-related jobs. As of the second quarter of 2016, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/qcew/AreaSel.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;industries in Chart 1 were responsible for over 57 percent of the employment in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/022817-nw-chart1_tcm1045-282285.jpg&quot; title=&quot;022817-nw-chart1&quot; alt=&quot;022817-nw-chart1&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;022817-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Yet, computer-related occupations are just the most visible piece of the workforce challenge. Nearly every occupation in both rural and urban communities will be changed by the rapid infusion of technological capability. These changes have been witnessed by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2016/06/02/how-technology-is-changing-manufacturing/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;manufacturers who have seen their industry shrink, evolve, and regain momentum&lt;/a&gt; over the past 20 years. Likewise, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cchpca.org&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;technology is allowing medical professionals to provide services remotely&lt;/a&gt;, which will also benefit rural areas.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to training more IT professionals, both public and private resources are needed to develop computer-related skills across the workforce. Tomorrow’s workforce will grow up learning these skills and will continue improving them throughout their lives. In December, DEED announced how state grants have been ensuring rural school districts, including several in Northwest Minnesota, have high-speed internet connections to complete homework and access other online learning opportunities. Linking education and training to workforce needs has always been a major goal of DEED and several other workforce and economic development institutions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Interestingly, no matter how fast technology evolves or how these services are delivered, the fusion of education and industry needs will remain as important tomorrow as they were a century ago, perhaps even more so. Enhanced access to technology available through broadband investment will allow students and workers to develop and deploy computer-related skills throughout their lives. If modern computing continues to follow Moore’s Law, Northwest Minnesota will need access to such lifelong learning to maintain an adaptive and competitive workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin
&lt;br /&gt;
Regional Labor Market Analyst
&lt;br /&gt;
Northwest Minnesota
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;chet.bodin@state.mn.us&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>282282</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:42Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Digital Dynamics</Title><title>2017-01-19 Digital Dynamics ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-274081&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2017-01-19T18:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Broadband funding would help businesses and entrepreneurs in Northwest Minnesota keep pace with other areas of the state, and lead to more IT jobs in the future.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;What does broadband mean for economic development? &lt;a href=&quot;https://internetinnovation.org/special-reports/u-s-broadband-the-u-s-economy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;A report from the Internet Innovation Alliance&lt;/a&gt; shows that the broadband sector (information and communication technologies) was responsible for 4.9 million jobs in 2014, or 4.2 percent of all U.S. private employment. As such, broadband capacity may be an important determining factor in the share of future technology jobs that are created outside of metro areas.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For several years, broadband expansion has been a priority in Minnesota as rural employers and entrepreneurs strive to keep pace with advancements in technology that can help make them more competitive. The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband released its &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/assets/2016-bbtf-report_tcm1045-268826.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;2016 annual report&lt;/a&gt;, which outlined how $35 million was allocated by the legislature for DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/grant-program/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Established in 2013, the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program aims to increase investments in infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas. In turn, these investments will help put rural areas in a position to attract and retain more businesses, and ideally employ more workers. These improvements are welcome in Northwest Minnesota, which consists of 26 mostly rural counties. Despite some economic centers scattered throughout, Northwest Minnesota remains the only planning area in the state without a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) primarily located in it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Projected computer and information technology (IT) job growth in Northwest Minnesota is relatively low compared to other parts of the state. Computer and IT-related jobs are very likely to grow with the pace of broadband, although broadband expansion could lead to a need for occupations that don’t even exist yet. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/10-jobs-that-didn-t-exist-10-years-ago/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Here are jobs that didn’t exist 10 years ago&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As broadband access and the capabilities of business to harness it grows, a greater need for computer specialists and network architects may also emerge in Northwest Minnesota. But in what may be a reflection of slower broadband development in some parts of Northwest Minnesota, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;employment projections&lt;/a&gt; in computer occupations are much lower in the region than in the state as a whole. (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/011917-nw-table1_tcm1045-274082.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2014-20124 Employment Outlook by Greater Minnesota Planning Area, Computer-related Occupations&quot; alt=&quot;2014-20124 Employment Outlook by Greater Minnesota Planning Area, Computer-related Occupations&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;011917-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Broadband has expanded significantly in Northwest Minnesota since 2011, at least for lower download speeds. The expansion at the 10M download speed has allowed for more access on personal computers and residential accounts. Job seekers and other rural residents are much more plugged in than they used to be – an important capability for those outside metro areas who need reliable access to a world that’s dramatically more connected and interdependent than it used to be (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/011917-nw-figure1_tcm1045-274083.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2011-2016 Broadband Growth Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;2011-2016 Broadband Growth Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;011917-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The caveat is that economic development also benefits from faster broadband speeds that allow businesses the ability to function faster than an average residential user. Many areas of Northwest Minnesota remain underserved in this capacity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Broadband at 100M download speed is much less available in remote areas, but is also lacking in some economic centers such as Fergus Falls, Thief River Falls, and Walker – not to mention countless small towns that would also benefit from broadband expansion (Figure 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/011917-nw-figure2_tcm1045-274084.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Underserved and Unserved Area, Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Underserved and Unserved Area, Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;011917-nw-figure2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Some areas are increasing speed incrementally, moving above 25M download speed. Given that some estimates put the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.govtech.com/network/How-Much-Funding-is-Recommended-for-Minnesota-Broadband.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;total cost of statewide broadband access&lt;/a&gt; at around $3 billion, the pace is understandable. But the lack of consistent access in all areas has put less connected areas at a technological disadvantage.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For 2017, the Governor’s Task Force has recommended $100 million for the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program. If even half that much is allocated to the program, funding in 2017 would far exceed that which has been dedicated to develop broadband capacity throughout the state thus far. Ideally, this would help employers and entrepreneurs in Northwest Minnesota keep pace with other parts of the state, and lead to more regional IT jobs in the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>274081</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:42Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Millennial Migration</Title><title>2016-12-13 Millennial Migration ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-268584&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-12-13T18:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Northwest Minnesota is a resilient rural region, attracting a number of residents in their thirties and early forties. If millennials in this age range migrate to Northwest like the generation before them, their relative density would bump up in-migration and bolster the regional population and workforce.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Discussion surrounding the millennial generation is widespread and multi-faceted, largely because they are set to make up the largest segment of the workforce in Minnesota and the nation in the next decade. But what makes millennial impact even more important to employers, policy-makers, and educational institutions is the context of their arrival. Even as millennials enter the labor force in droves, baby boomers are exiting even faster. Not only are values and norms in the workplace changing, but the ensuing workforce shortage has created a simultaneous challenge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Minnesota the supply of millennial workers varies by region, and whether an employer is looking to attract more or live without them, their relative size in the workforce and migration patterns matter. These sizable demographic shifts are leading employers to examine generational context in their management and hiring strategies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Generational identity is often based more on social acceptance than definite timelines, and specific boundaries of the millennial generation remain unsettled. If for no other reason, demographic starting and ending points need to be established to provide macro-level statistical analysis. Most efforts to pin down the boundaries of the millennial generation range between 1977 and 2002, where both the floor and ceiling vary.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The generational boundaries used here are set parallel to the data sources used for analysis. In 2015 estimates from the American Community Survey, millennials would have been between the ages of 13 and 38 at the widest range. ACS population estimates, however, are organized by five-year age groups (i.e. 0-4 years, 5-9 years, etc.) and trend analysis benefits from age ranges that follow suit. The youngest age limit can easily be increased to 15 since most people do not enter the workforce until at least that age anyway. In addition, most estimates of the millennial generation do not exceed 20 years in length, which would put the upper age limit at 34 years of age in 2015. By that estimation, millennials researched here would have been born from 1981 to 2000.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Based on this, the millennial generation – people between 15 and 34 years of age in 2015 – accounted for almost a quarter of the regional population in Northwest Minnesota. However, population projections from the Minnesota State Demographer show that millennials will hold a shrinking share of the region’s population over the next two decades due to changing migration patterns (Table 1). Either way, millennials will still have a significant impact on regional culture, economic demand, and workforce supply.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121316-nw-table1_tcm1045-268585.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Population Projections, Northwest Minesota&quot; alt=&quot;Population Projections, Northwest Minesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121316-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Twenty-somethings often migrate away from rural areas like Northwest Minnesota for other education and career opportunities. A simplified cohort analysis helps show how age groups shift over time – people who were in the 15 to 19 year old age group in 2010 will be in the 20- to 24-year-old age group in 2015. If no one moves in and no one moves out, the count of people in that age group in 2010 would provide an “expected” count of people in the next age group in the next five-year time period. However, “actual” numbers are oftentimes different, showing in- or out-migration.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For example, a large portion of the millennial generation aged into their twenties from 2010 to 2015, and over 8,000 more of these twenty-somethings vacated Northwest Minnesota than moved in (Chart 1). Based on the population projections in Table 1, it appears millennial out-migration will continue as those who are teenagers now graduate high school and begin to test other markets.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121316-nw-chart1_tcm1045-268587.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Migration by Age Cohort, NW Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Migration by Age Cohort, NW Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121316-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;But Northwest Minnesota is a resilient region, whose rural qualities also attract a number of people, particularly those in their thirties and early forties. From 2010 to 2015, over 3,000 more persons aged 30 to 44 moved into Northwest Minnesota than moved out. Although that is less than the millennial out-migration, the potential for the gap to narrow will grow as millennials age. If millennials migrate to Northwest Minnesota more in their thirties and early forties like the generation before them just did, the relative density of millennials would give in-migration a bump, bolstering the regional population and workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;What’s the bottom line? While the Northwest Minnesota millennial population is likely to decline in the next decade, their impact in the regional workforce may still increase. As the entire generation comes of age, their labor force participation will increase, as will the proportion of millennials in the regional workforce, especially as baby boomers continue to exit (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121316-nw-table2_tcm1045-268588.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Labor Force Projections NW Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Labor Force Projections NW Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121316-nw-table2&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Fortunately, this gives employers time to prepare for an influx. If employers are ready to receive them, even more millennials might end up making Northwest Minnesota their home.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>268584</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:39Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Certifying Veterans in the Workforce</Title><title>2016-11-04 Certifying Veterans ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-262558&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-11-04T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>There&apos;s &quot;five-star demand&quot; for nurses, EMTs and police officers in every region of Northwest Minnesota. Find out how veterans benefit from accelerated licensure. </ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest Minnesota and the state as a whole, veterans are an important and valued part of the workforce. In Northwest Minnesota, 11 percent of the population and six percent of the workforce are veterans, which amounts to over 16,000 workers, according to the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;American Community Survey&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;One of the top challenges for veterans transitioning to the civilian ranks is translating their military training to civilian credentials, such as professional certifications and college credits. From 2013 to 2015, Minnesota was one of six states that participated in the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.dol.gov/vets/media/Veterans_Demonstration_Final%20Report_9_28_v2.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Veterans&apos; Licensing and Credentialing Demonstration Project&lt;/a&gt; in order to pilot accelerated pathways to licensure and certification for veterans. This is important because according to DEED&apos;s most recent &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt;, one-third of all job vacancies statewide require a certificate or license.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In the pilot program, Minnesota focused on creating accelerated licensure for three high-demand occupations across the state: Licensed Practical Nurses, Emergency Medical Technicians, and Police Officers. Table 1 indicates the current and future need for workers in these occupations, as they are all rated as four or five stars according to DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand tool&lt;/a&gt;. In addition, over 90 percent of statewide vacancies for these jobs in the first half of 2016 required a professional license or certificate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/110416-nw-table1_tcm1045-262557.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Minnesota Occupations in Demand, Select Occupations&quot; alt=&quot;Minnesota Occupations in Demand, Select Occupations&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;110416-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Accelerated licensure for these occupations is often implemented though post-secondary institutions, often referred to as “bridging programs” that award veterans credit hours up front for their prior service training, saving them time and money. For example, at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.riverland.edu/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Riverland Community College&lt;/a&gt;, a Health Care Specialist (68W) who has received training through the military is entitled to 26 credits toward a degree in Practical Nursing. This accounts for over half of the necessary program credits, and qualifying veterans only need to earn 13 additional credits to graduate and be eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition to college credits, some training recognized by the state now allows for immediate certification. Again, Health Care Specialists (68W), who are required to maintain certification from the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.nremt.org/rwd/public/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians&lt;/a&gt; during their service, can apply and become licensed in Minnesota without any additional schooling.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In addition, &lt;a href=&quot;http://minnstate.edu/military/index.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota State Colleges and Universities also offer transfer credits for military training in a variety of other instructional programs&lt;/a&gt;, whether the occupations require a professional certificate or license or not. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Veterans and employers in Northwest Minnesota will definitely benefit from accelerated licensure, since Nurses, EMTs, and Police Officers are even more in demand in the Northwest than the rest of the state. All three occupations have five star demand indicators in every region of Northwest Minnesota, and are projected to have a significant number of regional openings through 2024. An estimated 1,673 workers will be needed to fill vacancies in just these three occupations by 2024 (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/110916-nw-chart1_tcm1045-262565.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota 2014-2024 Employment Projections, Select Occupations&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota 2014-2024 Employment Projections, Select Occupations&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;110916-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Ideally, accelerated certification options will become more available and known to veterans in Northwest Minnesota. Regionally, the unemployment rate for veterans remains about 1.5 percent higher than for non-veterans, indicating there is room to add workers from their ranks. Through the Demonstration Project and other experiments, Minnesota has been a leader in veteran credentialing, and Minnesota veterans deserve to have their training and skills recognized in a way that allows for a smooth transition from military service to civilian employment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>262558</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:39Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Area Technical Colleges Producing Regional Employment</Title><title>2016-10-14 Area Technical Colleges ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-260375&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-10-14T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Manufacturing ranks second in employment and total wages paid among all industries in Northwest Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The manufacturing industry is always hiring – especially in Northwest Minnesota, where manufacturing ranks second in employment and total wages paid among all industries. Results from DEED’s latest Job Vacancy Survey, which surveys over 10,000 employers statewide, estimates Northwest Minnesota had more than 600 job openings in manufacturing through the second quarter of 2016.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;From the 25th to the 75th percentiles, wage offers in manufacturing ranged from $11.73 to $16.01, but varied greatly by economic development region and the percentage of job vacancies requiring post-secondary education and/or work experience.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturers in “EDR 1 – Northwest” and “EDR 2 – Headwaters” were looking to hire workers with post-secondary education and/or work experience more often, and also had much higher wage offers for new jobs. The mid-range wage offers in those EDRs extended above $20 per hour. This is great news for those looking for a post-secondary program that will help them find a good paying local job after they graduate (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/northwest-table1-vacancy_tcm1045-259200.png&quot; title=&quot;Manufacturing Job Vacancy Details, Northwest Minnesota, 2016 Q2&quot; alt=&quot;Manufacturing Job Vacancy Details, Northwest Minnesota, 2016 Q2&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;2016-10-04-northwest-table1-vacancy&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Manufacturers have good reasons to look for employees with post-secondary training, and job seekers have good reasons to invest in post-secondary training. From 2010-2013, the five Minnesota State (formerly known as MnSCU) colleges offering two-year degrees in Northwest Minnesota graduated almost 950 students in manufacturing-related programs, including engineering technologies and precision production. Almost 60 percent of recent graduates found work in Northwest Minnesota, suggesting that local graduates are willing to stay in the region, and local employers are noticing. The median wage two years after graduating for these workers was $17.54 per hour.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, there has still been some incentive for local graduates from manufacturing-related programs to look for work outside of Northwest Minnesota. Overall, graduates from these programs (regardless of work location) had a median wage of $18.43 after two years in the workforce, meaning workers who find jobs outside the region are earning higher wages, especially in the Twin Cities metro area.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite this pay gap, there are many reasons for regional graduates to stay. Besides the abundance of recreational and outdoor activities, those graduates who decide to stay and work for manufacturers in Northwest Minnesota do much better than average. Their median wage two years after graduating ($17.54/hour) exceeds the regional median hourly wage for all jobs ($15.90/hour) by $1.64, a difference of $3,411 over the course of a full-time work year (see Figure 1 below).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/northwest-figure1-medianwage_tcm1045-259199.png&quot; title=&quot;Median Wage and Cost of Living Comparisons, Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Median Wage and Cost of Living Comparisons, Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;2016-10-04-northwest-figure1-medianwage&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;On the flip side, manufacturing-related graduates who leave the region might make more per hour ($18.43/hour), but that does not exceed the statewide median wage for all jobs ($18.88/hour). The data indicates that skilled manufacturing employees are very important to employers in Northwest Minnesota. In fact, manufacturing was the only regional industry in Northwest Minnesota to employ more than 20,000 workers and pay over $45,000 in annual wages per worker, making it a popular and lucrative line of work.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Local graduates who decide to stay and work in Northwest Minnesota also benefit from a significant cost of living difference. The average family with one child and two adults working a combined 60 hours per week would need to make $14.88 an hour in Northwest Minnesota – $2.69 an hour less than the state average – to meet basic cost of living standards. That amounts to over $8,000 a year that a family can save or use for other expenses. See DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cost-of-Living tool&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Between this cost-of-living benefit, excellent job placement, high regional value and current demand for their skills, graduates of manufacturing-related training programs have ample reason to stay in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>260375</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:37Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Education and Employment: Health Care Occupations</Title><title>2016-10-03 Education and Employment ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-259420&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-10-03T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>All award types from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities health care programs lead to great outcomes for students – and a strong regional health care industry.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota supports some of the largest health care systems in the state, such as &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.essentiahealth.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Essentia Health&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sanfordhealth.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Sanford Health&lt;/a&gt;. There are about 1,450 health care and social assistance establishments in the region – averaging over 25 employees per location – for a total of nearly 36,700 jobs. &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/qcew/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;According to quarterly census of employment &amp;amp; wages data from DEED&lt;/a&gt;, the Healthcare and Social Assistance industry employs more workers than any other in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Although some of these jobs focus on administration and other duties besides health care, the industry’s influence means there are a large number of health care-specific occupations. In total, there are over 12,000 health care practitioners in Northwest Minnesota, which include physicians and nurses, and nearly 6,500 health care support professionals, such as certified nursing assistants and dental assistants. Together, health care occupations account for almost 19,000 jobs in Northwest Minnesota (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/100316-nw-table1_tcm1045-259421.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2016 Employment and Wages by Occupation Group&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Employment and Wages by Occupation Group&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;100316-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Unlike other top occupations groups like sales and food preparation, health care professions require a wide range of skills and training, and consequently the wages of health care occupations vary greatly. The median hourly wages of health care practitioners ($26.79) are much higher than health care support occupations ($12.54).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For those looking to enter the health care field, education programs in the Northwest region range from certificate programs that train health care support professionals to bachelor’s and graduate degrees in registered nursing. The health care programs at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in Northwest Minnesota appear to be leading to higher wages for workers within the field. The employment and wage outcomes of different training programs vary, but post-secondary education appears to be driving wage outcomes above the regional medians, especially for practitioners, technicians and support professionals.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Two years after graduating, the annual wages of 2011-2012 graduates were higher than the median regional wages today, and increased even more by their fourth year in the workforce. Certificate holders who found full-time, year-round work – often in health care support positions – had a median wage of $31,385 two years after graduating, which was over $5,000 more than the median annual wage for health care support occupations in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Bachelor’s degree holders from health care instructional programs earned a median wage of $63,618 two years after graduating when working full-time and year-round, far exceeding the median annual wage of all Healthcare Practitioners and Technicians in the region, which was $55,722 in 2016. Although these outcomes include graduates employed throughout Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, Northwest Minnesota was the top region of employment for these graduates (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/100316-nw-chart1_tcm1045-259422.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Graduate Employment Outcomes, Healthcare instructional Programs from Minnesota State Post-Secondary Institutions in NW Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Graduate Employment Outcomes, Healthcare instructional Programs from Minnesota State Post-Secondary Institutions in NW Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;100316-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Graduates who earned associate degrees also enjoyed positive labor market outcomes. Their annual wages were almost an exact mid-point between certificate and bachelor’s degree holders. In addition to competitive wages, associate degree graduates are likely to complete their schooling with less education debt than higher-level health care practitioners such as doctors, which would free up more of their income.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, all three award types from health care instructional programs at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in Northwest Minnesota are leading to excellent outcomes for local students, and are preparing an educated workforce to maintain a strong health care industry in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>259420</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:37Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>College, Family &amp; Earning a Living</Title><title>2016-08-15 College Family Earning ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-252660&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-08-15T16:37:32Z</Date><ShortDescription>Annual cost for family of three - with one child - to meet basic living needs in Northwest Minnesota: $46,416.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This month&apos;s blog post follows a series started in May which aims to inform those considering post-secondary education on the accumulated costs of education, and how well graduates are faring in the workforce. By comparing estimated costs of education with graduate employment and wage outcomes, hopefully current and prospective students will be in a better position to make financially sound decisions when choosing a post-secondary program. Please check out parts 1, 2 and 3 on the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/list/appId/1/filterType//filterValue//page/1/sort//order/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota Local Look Blog&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Last month&apos;s post compared the median wages of graduates from the public colleges and universities in Northwest Minnesota with median student loan debt and the regional cost of living for a single person. Data from DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/graduate-employment-outcomes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes&lt;/a&gt; tool show that the ability of regional graduates to afford basic cost of living expenses vary by the amount borrowed to complete a degree and post-graduate employment outcomes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While these results focused on single persons, many workers paying off student loans have families and incur additional financial obligations. In such situations, a household may have more income if the partner is also working, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/graduate-employment-outcomes/method-geo.jsp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;but some cost of living expenses would also increase such as child care and transportation&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Cost of Living tool&lt;/a&gt;, the typical family in Minnesota consists of two adults and one child, with one full-time worker and one part-time worker. It costs a family of three with one child approximately $46,416 a year in Northwest Minnesota to meet basic cost of living needs, including housing, transportation, insurance, food, child care, taxes and other expenses (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/081516-nw-table1_tcm1045-252689.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Cost of Living&quot; alt=&quot;Northwest Minnesota Cost of Living&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;081516-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This is more than the median salaries of graduates from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions in Northwest Minnesota after two years in the workforce, which hovered around $40,000 per year for 2013 graduates who were working full-time, year-round. When average student loan repayment costs are added, it may be difficult for recent graduates to afford their student loan obligations and basic cost of living necessities without support from a partner (Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/081516-nw-table2_tcm1045-252691.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Cost of Living and College Debt Expenses by Minnesota State Colleges &amp;amp; Universities Institution Type, Northwest Minnesota&quot; alt=&quot;Cost of Living and College Debt Expenses by Minnesota State Colleges &amp;amp; Universities Institution Type, Northwest Minnesota&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;081516-nw-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 2 indicates that the average graduate working full-time within two years would have to rely on their partner&apos;s income to help meet Cost of Living standards while paying off their student loans, regardless of the degree earned. As noted above, the typical family includes one full-time and one part-time worker, working a total of 60 hours per week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Using this threshold to estimate combined household income, Charts 1 and 2 show how different employment scenarios would affect an average family&apos;s financial standing. Though it&apos;s important to note that not all graduates find full-time employment right away, it is a realistic and attainable goal for those who acquire post-secondary education. Assuming that the recent graduate is working 40 hours per week, household income would include an additional 20 hours per week of wages earned by the household partner, which will affect how well borrowers can pay off student loans. Twenty hours per week amounts to 1,040 hours per year, which allows for quick estimates of annual wages for a partner at different wage levels. For example, a worker earning $9.50 per hour would have an annual income of $9,880 ($9.50 per hour x 1,040 hours = $9,880); while a worker earning the regional median wage of $15.90 would have an annual salary of $16,536 ($15.90 per hour x 1,040 hours = $16,536). With that in mind, Charts 1 and 2 below include partner wages at both the state minimum wage and the regional median wage in Northwest Minnesota. While real world scenarios vary from these examples, the data provides a framework for families to estimate their financial circumstances and outlook (Chart 1 and Chart 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/081516-nw-chart1_tcm1045-252693.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Comparison of Cost of Living, Student Loan Repayments, and Graduate Employment&quot; alt=&quot;Comparison of Cost of Living, Student Loan Repayments, and Graduate Employment&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;081516-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/081516-nw-chart2_tcm1045-252694.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Comparison of Cost of Living, Student Loan Repayments, and Graduate Employment Outcomes&quot; alt=&quot;Comparison of Cost of Living, Student Loan Repayments, and Graduate Employment Outcomes&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;081516-nw-chart2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The data shows that a graduate from a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Community and Technical College in Northwest Minnesota finding full-time, year-round work (again, a large assumption) with a partner working part-time should be able to cover both basic cost of living expenses and education loan payments (shown as the &quot;Total Cost of Living&quot;) most of the time. Even if their partner earned no more than minimum wage, their household income would be virtually the same as what it costs to live and pay back their loans. Higher wages for the partner would create some financial breathing room, as shown in the example of a partner earning the regional median wage of $15.90.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Households with graduates of state universities in Northwest Minnesota would be in a similar position. Their average annual education loan repayment costs are higher, but so are their median full-time salaries two years after graduating. Those with a partner working part-time making minimum wage would be able to clear total cost of living by more than $500 a year. As before, this amount increases with the partner&apos;s wage. If the partner earned the regional median wage, the household should clear total cost of living expenses by more than $5,000 – maybe even enough to start saving for the future education costs of their child. Provided, of course, that the other adult member of the household does not have student loan payments of their own.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Next month&apos;s post will look at how graduates from Healthcare and Social Assistance, the largest employment sector in Northwest Minnesota, are faring in the workforce and earning a living.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>252660</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:37Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Median Debt &amp; Median Wages</Title><title>2016-07-22 Median Debt &amp; Median Wages ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-252702&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-07-22T16:50:26Z</Date><ShortDescription>Who&apos;s earning what and is it enough? The median debt for the five community and technical colleges ranged from $11,000 at Northwest Technical College to $15,750 at Northland Community and Technical College.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Our &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp#/list/appId/1/filterType//filterValue//page/1/sort//order/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;past two blog posts&lt;/a&gt; have looked at the costs and employment outcomes for graduates of two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Northwest Minnesota. &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-252709&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Rising Costs of College&lt;/a&gt; looked at total costs if students took out loans to cover all annual expenses including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses. &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-252706&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Understanding Costs and Benefits&lt;/a&gt; compared median wages for graduates who found full-time, year-round employment against their student loan repayment obligations and the regional cost of living.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These data provided a framework for discussion, but total education costs vary by personal savings, &lt;a href=&quot;https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;school location&lt;/a&gt;, household income, hours worked while in school, &lt;a href=&quot;https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;scholarships awarded&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/college-costs/getting-college-credit-before-college&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;pre-college credits attained&lt;/a&gt;. Clearly, not every student borrows the full amount to attend college. Instead, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ed.gov/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;U.S. Department of Education&lt;/a&gt; compiles data on average student debt on their &lt;a href=&quot;https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;College Scorecard&lt;/a&gt;. These data look at the performance of schools eligible to receive federal financial aid and the outcomes of their students.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to College Scorecard data, students who graduate from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) in Northwest Minnesota borrow much less than the full amount needed for college, which also makes annual student loan repayments much less. The median debt for the five community and technical colleges in Northwest Minnesota ranged from $11,000 at Northwest Technical College in Bemidji to $15,750 at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/072216_nw_table1_tcm1045-250750.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Median Student Loan Debt for Graduates in Northwest Minnesota &quot; alt=&quot;Median Student Loan Debt for Graduates in Northwest Minnesota &quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;072216-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, while median student debt is less than the full amount, graduates are also likely to earn less than full-time, year-round wages after graduating. According to data from DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/graduate-employment-outcomes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes tool&lt;/a&gt;, after two years in the workforce, 2013 graduates from the two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Northwest Minnesota found full-time, year-round employment only 38 percent and 39 percent of the time, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The full-time, year-round median wage for graduates of the two-year colleges in Northwest Minnesota was $37,537; compared to $24,130 for all graduates, more than a $13,000 difference. Likewise, graduates from the four-year universities in the region who found full-time, year-round work were earning $41,158 two years after graduation, which was just over $11,000 higher than the median wage for all graduates, at $29,943.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given these realities, Chart 1 lowers the annual costs of repaying student loans to match the median debt of all graduates from MnSCU schools in Northwest Minnesota, but also substitutes the median wage for all graduates working in Minnesota rather than using the full-time, year-round wages. These adjustments produce much different results than the last blog post. Graduates from four-year state universities would be able to meet their loan repayment and &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;cost of living&lt;/a&gt; needs, but not by much. On the other hand, median wages for certificate and associate degree holders from the region’s community and technical colleges were about $2,000 short of what’s needed to afford cost of living and education loans combined.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/072216_nw_chart1_tcm1045-250751.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2015 Cost of Living and Student Loans by Institution Type versus Median Wages for All Workers from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in Northwest Minnesota 2012-2013 Graduates&quot; alt=&quot;2015 Cost of Living and Student Loans by Institution Type versus Median Wages for All Workers from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in Northwest Minnesota 2012-2013 Graduates&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;072216-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The living standard of college graduates is highly variable by the type of institution attended, the length of the program, how much is borrowed to complete a degree, and whether a college graduate finds full-time work. Graduates are able to repay education loans more easily if they find full-time, year-round employment, but that assumption is a bigger risk than some might realize. GEO data show that many graduates have lower median wages until they land that full-time, year-round gig.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Next month, we’ll look at how different outcomes could affect families with additional cost of living expenses – another factor that will hopefully help individuals plan for the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>252702</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:37Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Understanding Costs and Benefits</Title><title>2016-06-29 Understanding Costs and Benefits ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-252706&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-06-29T17:04:56Z</Date><ShortDescription>Bachelor&apos;s vs. associate degree? Understanding costs and benefits of post-secondary education is important for anyone looking to improve their job prospects. Here’s what the numbers say.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Understanding costs and benefits of post-secondary education is important for anyone looking to improve their job prospects, whether it be high school seniors or mid-level professionals who want to make a career jump. Last month’s blog post on the &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-252709&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Rising Costs of College&lt;/a&gt; looked at the total costs of several types of degrees when personal expenses and education grants are factored into normal cost considerations like tuition, room and board and books.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;But how do incurred education costs look after graduation? This month we track employment outcome data from state college and universities in Northwest Minnesota to find out where post-secondary graduates stand financially after they enter the workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As noted in last month’s post, the major difference in education costs comes from the accumulated amount of multi-year programs – and the additional interest on what is borrowed to complete a degree. Borrowers have several options to cover these costs, including private loans from banking and credit union institutions. However, most first-year, full-time students are eligible for federally-subsidized loans with 4.66 percent interest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Based on that rate, certificate completers paying off $12,905 in student loans from fully financing one year of college would need to pay $1,608 per year over a 10-year period. Associate degree holders who compiled $25,810 in loans in two years would pay $3,228 per year for 10 years; and students who borrowed $60,248 over four years to earn a bachelor’s degree would have annual payments of $7,548 over 10 years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;After graduating and joining the labor force, in addition to student loans, these workers often start accumulating regular expenses like housing, food, insurance, transportation, and more. According to DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cost of Living tool&lt;/a&gt;, the basic needs budget for a single person with no children in Northwest Minnesota is $26,496, regardless of educational attainment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking at wages of graduates from the five public colleges (Alexandria Technical &amp;amp; Community College, Central Lakes College, Minnesota State Community and Technical College, Northwest Technical College, and Northland Community &amp;amp; Technical College) and two universities (Bemidji State University and Minnesota State University, Moorhead) in Northwest Minnesota, DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/graduate-employment-outcomes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes tool&lt;/a&gt; shows that the median earnings for full-time, year-round workers with one- and two-year degrees made just slightly less in their second year after graduating; but because of their lower loan payments these graduates would have more net income than four-year degree holders who found full-time, year-round work after joining the workforce (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 100%&quot; alt=&quot;Cost of Living and Student Loans by Degree Type&quot; title=&quot;Cost of Living and Student Loans by Degree Type&quot; src=&quot;/deed/assets/062916-nw-chart1_tcm1045-248743.jpg&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;062916-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given these incomes, a certificate holder working full-time, year-round would have nearly $2,400 more in financial freedom than a four-year degree holder two years after graduating, and a person with an associate degree would have $3,500 more in-pocket. Though the data show that not all graduates are able to find full-time, year-round employment immediately after graduating, that is often the goal for these students. For 2013 graduates, 43 percent of people earning certificates found full-time employment, just ahead of those with bachelor’s degrees (39 percent) and associate degrees (37 percent).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, full-time wages tend to fluctuate by degree type over time once graduates become more established in the workforce. Looking at data for graduates from 2010-2011, wages for those with bachelor’s degrees exceeded those with associate’s degrees by about $800 annually in their fourth year (Chart 2). While it’s important to track changes over time, the median wages of bachelor’s and associate degree graduates from 2011 were nearly equidistant in 2015 to graduates who attained those degrees in 2013. In other words, 2011 graduates with associate degrees who found full-time employment would have had an opportunity to save well over $10,000 more than bachelor’s degree holders after four years in the workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 100%&quot; alt=&quot;Full-time, Year-round Mediam Wages by Degree&quot; title=&quot;Full-time, Year-round Median Wages by Degree&quot; src=&quot;/deed/assets/062916-nw-chart2_tcm1045-248744.jpg&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;062916-nw-chart2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The data show that certificates and associate degrees lead to slightly lower wage levels but much lower educational costs with more manageable payments after completion. If a person’s occupational goals require a bachelor’s degree, that requires more short-term and long-term comparisons. Understanding the resulting debt-to-income ratios could help anyone just starting out in their career or those readjusting mid-career. If one- and two-year degree holders choose to pay their loans off faster with the extra income, they could also save significant amounts of loan interest; graduates with bachelor’s degrees may be banking on higher returns over time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Of course, others with families to support may need the extra dollars to cover cost-of-living expenses for childcare, food, or housing. Next month we’ll look at how educational attainment impacts the cost of living for different family types in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>252706</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:35Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Rising Costs of College</Title><title>2016-06-16 Rising Costs of College ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-252709&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-06-16T17:13:02Z</Date><ShortDescription>How much does a degree cost? Higher education has always been an important factor in economic success. Since 1991 post-secondary tuition and fees in Minnesota have increased anywhere from 94 percent at private four-year colleges to 175 percent at the University of Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Post-secondary education has always been an important factor in economic success, but the rising costs of college can be very worrisome for job seekers who want to get the most out of their investment. Since 1985, the costs of higher education have surged more than 538 percent, according to Bloomberg News. In Minnesota, the costs of education have increased at a slower, but still very high rate. The Office of Higher Education provides a historical look at the cost of tuition and fees at various types of post-secondary institutions over time. Weighted for inflation, post-secondary tuition and fees in the state have increased anywhere from 94 percent at private four-year colleges to 175 percent at the University of Minnesota since 1991 (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; alt=&quot;2016 Tuition and Fees Costs, Minnesota Post-Secondary Institutions&quot; title=&quot;2016 Tuition and Fees Costs, Minnesota Post-Secondary Institutions&quot; src=&quot;/deed/assets/061616_nw_chart1_tcm1045-246244.jpg&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;061616-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This has many people asking what type of post-secondary education is right for them and their financial future. In 2015, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/jvs/ResultDetails.aspx&quot;&gt;over two-thirds of job vacancies in Northwest Minnesota required no more than a high school diploma&lt;/a&gt; so the decision of whether or not to invest in post-secondary education is a critical one. The investment decision is even bigger when one considers the full cost of education, which can extend well beyond tuition. Annual expenses may also include room, board, transportation and personal expenses – to name a few. And while &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/29/more-college-students-are-working-while-studying.html&quot;&gt;working while in school is becoming a more popular option&lt;/a&gt;, and working students tend to borrow less than those who do not work, that may not be a realistic option for everyone.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 itemizes typical education costs by looking at the amount of federally-subsidized loans needed to pay annual expenses, minus the average amount of combined state and local grants awarded by institution type. In reality, total education costs will vary by school location, cost of living before and after graduating, personal savings, and household income. For the sake of discussion, however, Table 1 looks at average total costs of attending a Minnesota State Colleges &amp;amp; Universities institution in Northwest Minnesota if annual expenses (minus grants) are borrowed up front.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; alt=&quot;Average Cost of Education, State Colleges and Universities, Northwest Minnesota&quot; title=&quot;Average Cost of Education, State Colleges and Universities, Northwest Minnesota&quot; src=&quot;/deed/assets/061616_nw_table1_tcm1045-246245.jpg&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;061616-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Annual costs of education at four-year universities exceed those at two-year colleges, but not by as much as one might think. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Tuition &amp;amp; Fees and Room &amp;amp; Board cost more at regional state universities (such as Bemidji State and Minnesota State University-Moorhead), but Other Expenses such as transportation and personal expenses are less. Universities are more likely to offer on-campus room and board options like dorms and apartments, compared to the regional state colleges (including Alexandria, Bemidji, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Moorhead, Thief River Falls and Wadena), which rarely do. Therefore, students at two-year colleges tend to live off-campus and drive to school, which may help explain these differences; though the total cost of room and board and other expenses varied by only about $500 between colleges and universities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The greater difference comes from the accumulated costs of multi-year programs, and the additional interest on what is borrowed to complete a degree. Borrowers have several options to cover these costs, including private loans from banks and credit unions. However, most first-year, full-time students are eligible for federally-subsidized loans at 4.66 percent interest. Based on that, certificate completers paying off an average of $12,905 in student loans over a 10-year period would need to pay $1,608 per year. Associate degree holders who compiled $25,810 in loans would need to pay $3,228 per year for 10 years; and students who borrowed $60,248 to earn a bachelor’s degree would have annual payments of $7,548 over 10 years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To navigate this decision, DEED has several tools that can help a prospective student, worker, or casual observer. The &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/etd/Results.aspx&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes&lt;/a&gt; tool shows how well graduates fare after they’re done with school and join the workforce. Both statewide and regional data show that graduates from state colleges and universities with bachelor’s degrees are earning more than those with associate degrees after two years in the workforce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Next month we’ll explore employment outcomes for regional Minnesota State Colleges &amp;amp; Universities schools in more detail, and get an idea of how different award programs in Northwest Minnesota are paying off.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>252709</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:35Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Post-secondary Education</Title><title>2016-05-02 Post-secondary ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304259&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-05-02T17:13:02Z</Date><ShortDescription>The cost of higher ed.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Post-secondary education has always been an important factor in economic success, but the rising costs of college can be very concerning for job seekers who want to get the most out of their investment. Since 1985, the costs of higher education have surged more than 538 percent, according to Bloomberg News. This has many people asking what type of post-secondary education is right for them and how it will improve their lives. Many education paths can lead to a career, but understanding regional job prospects and the costs of education and living are vital to making post-secondary education work for you. To navigate this decision, DEED has several helpful tools.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/etd/Results.aspx&quot;&gt;Graduate Employment Outcomes&lt;/a&gt; tool shows how well graduates fare after they’re done with school and join the workforce. Both statewide and regional data show that graduates from state colleges and universities with bachelor’s degrees are earning more than those with associate degrees after two years in the workforce. But for workers who relied on student loans to finance that education, two-year degree holders may have more financial breathing room up front. This month’s blog post will look at education and living costs and how they shake out for college graduates.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Table 1 itemizes education costs for students who use loans to pay all of their annual expenses, including tuition and fees, room and board, and other expenses. Of course, there are many options to lower the cost of education during and after attaining an education. &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/29/more-college-students-are-working-while-studying.html&quot;&gt;Working while in school is becoming a more popular option&lt;/a&gt;, and working students tend to borrow less than those who do not work, according to a Georgetown study in 2015. Costs are also likely to depend on school location, cost of living before and after graduating, personal savings, and household income. For starters though, this analysis just looks at average costs regardless of how they are paid by students.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; alt=&quot;060316-nw-table1&quot; title=&quot;060316-nw-table1&quot; src=&quot;/deed/assets/060316-nw-table1_tcm1045-244654.jpg&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;060316-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Annual costs of education at four-year universities exceed those at two-year colleges, but not by as much as one might think. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Tuition &amp;amp; Fees and Room &amp;amp; Board cost more at regional state universities (such as &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.bemidjistate.edu/&quot;&gt;Bemidji State&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.mnstate.edu/&quot;&gt;Minnesota State University-Moorhead&lt;/a&gt;), but Other Expenses such as transportation and personal expenses are less. Universities are more likely to offer on-campus room and board options like dorms and apartments, compared to the regional state colleges (including &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.alextech.edu/&quot;&gt;Alexandria&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.ntcmn.edu/&quot;&gt;Bemidji&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.clcmn.edu/&quot;&gt;Brainerd&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.minnesota.edu/detroit-lakes/&quot;&gt;Detroit Lakes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.minnesota.edu/fergus-falls/&quot;&gt;Fergus Falls&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.minnesota.edu/moorhead/&quot;&gt;Moorhead&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.northlandcollege.edu/&quot;&gt;Thief River Falls&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.minnesota.edu/wadena/&quot;&gt;Wadena&lt;/a&gt;), which rarely do. Therefore, these students tend to live off-campus and drive to school, which may help explain these differences; though the total cost of room and board and other expenses varied by only about $500 between colleges and universities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The greater difference comes from the accumulated costs of multi-year programs, and the additional interest on what is borrowed to complete a degree. Borrowers have several options to cover these costs, including private loans from banks and credit unions. However most first-year, full-time students are eligible for federally-subsidized loans at 4.66 percent interest. Based on that, certificate completers paying off $12,905 in student loans over a 10-year period would need to pay $1,608 per year. Associate degree holders who compiled $25,810 in loans would need to pay $3,228 per year for 10 years; and students who loaned $60,248 to earn a bachelor’s degree would have annual payments of $7,548 over 10 years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;After graduating and joining the labor force, in addition to student loans, these workers often start accumulating regular expenses like housing, food, insurance, transportation and more. According to DEED’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cost of Living tool&lt;/a&gt;, the basic needs budget for a single person with no children in Northwest Minnesota is $26,496 – regardless of educational attainment. Though the data show that not all graduates are able to find full-time, year-round employment immediately after graduating, that is often the goal for these students.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Looking at wages of graduates from the public colleges and universities in Northwest Minnesota (see above), DEED’s Graduate Employment Outcomes shows that the median earnings for full-time, year-round workers with one- and two-year degrees made just slightly less in their second year after graduating, but because of their lower loan payments these graduates had more net income than four-year degree holders who found full-time, year-round work after joining the workforce (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; alt=&quot;060316-nw-chart1&quot; title=&quot;060316-nw-chart1&quot; src=&quot;/deed/assets/060316-nw-chart1_tcm1045-244655.jpg&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;060316-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Given these income margins, a certificate holder would have nearly $2,400 more in financial freedom than a four-year degree holder in 2015, and a two-year graduate would have $3,500 more in-pocket. If salaries remain equidistant by degree in the next couple years, those extra savings could quickly exceed $5,000-$10,000. The resulting debt-to-income ratio could help anyone just starting out in their life and career or readjusting halfway through. If one- and two-year degree holders choose to pay their loans off faster with the extra income, they could also save significant amounts of loan interest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304259</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:33Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Serving Up Jobs</Title><title>2016-04-01 Serving ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304260&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-04-01T17:13:02Z</Date><ShortDescription>No slicing food service jobs.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In 2014, Minnesota began increasing the state minimum wage from $6.15 per hour, where it stood since 2005. In August of this year the increase will reach $9.50 an hour, a 55 percent rise from just two years ago. Minnesota’s full minimum wage will be adjusted annually for inflation starting in 2018.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Some restaurant and bar owners have bemoaned the increase largely because a number of their employees make tips in addition to their base wages, which has allowed these employers to keep their labor costs down in the past. For some, fears swelled about the industry’s future viability and the fate of serving jobs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So far, food services employers in Northwest Minnesota do not appear to have cut their workforce since the minimum wage increases took effect. Overall, there were 15,932 jobs in the Food Services and Drinking Places industry in the region through the third quarter of 2015, up slightly from the third quarter of 2013, prior to the minimum wage increases.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Of the top three subsectors in the Food Services and Drinking Places industry, only Restaurants added jobs, but it was enough that the industry maintained positive job growth overall. Comparing third quarter employment from 2013 and 2015, Special Food Services (such as caterers and food trucks) and Drinking Places shed a combined 144 jobs, while Restaurants added 160 (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; alt=&quot;042116_nw_chart1&quot; title=&quot;042116_nw_chart1&quot; src=&quot;/deed/assets/042116_nw_chart1_tcm1045-226382.jpg&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;042116_nw_chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Although net job changes were minor, job vacancy trends indicate employment in food services continue to be in demand and job seekers need not shy away. Not only have wage offers increased since the fourth quarter of 2013, but the number of job vacancies in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations has also soared.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Thanks in part to its large tourism-related industry, Northwest Minnesota experienced a 169 percent increase in the number of food prep and serving job vacancies from 2013 to 2015. In the latter half of 2015, there were 439 vacancies for cook and food prep workers, a whopping 429 percent increase compared to the same period in 2013 (Table 1). The number of job vacancies for Food and Beverage Servers, whose base wage rates are typically minimum wage and therefore directly affected by the changes, more than doubled.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Interestingly, wage offers for food preparation employees like cooks and food prep workers – which were already near $9.00 an hour before the new minimum wage hike – have also increased. Wage offers for supervisors are up by 38 percent, with a median rate of $12.33 an hour. The increase for supervisors pushed their wage offers above the median wage offer for all job vacancies in Northwest Minnesota. In 2013, they were more than $2.00 per hour below that threshold (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; alt=&quot;042116_nw_table1&quot; title=&quot;042116_nw_table1&quot; src=&quot;/deed/assets/042116_nw_table1_tcm1045-226380.jpg&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;042116_nw_table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Combined, these data indicate that neither employment nor opportunity has fallen off in the food services sector, despite new minimum wage requirements. Whether employers can fill their employment needs is another question, but the food service industry is certainly looking like a good option for workers looking to find and keep a job.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304260</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:33Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>American Indian Unemployment</Title><title>2016-03-18 American Indian ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304256&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-03-18T17:13:02Z</Date><ShortDescription>Training puts crease in high unemployment.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Consistently high unemployment, relatively low labor force participation, low educational attainment and poverty are long-standing challenges that Minnesota’s American Indian population face.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This is especially important in the 26-county Northwest Minnesota region, where over one-third (37.6 percent) of Minnesota’s American Indian population lives. This includes about 15,000 people on the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.redlakenation.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Red Lake Nation&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.llojibwe.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Leech Lake&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://whiteearth.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;White Earth&lt;/a&gt; Reservations alone. In comparison, only 10.3 percent of the state’s total population lives in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As reported in &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-304237&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;December’s NW Local Look blog&lt;/a&gt;, DEED awarded the Northwest Indian OIC a grant through the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/business/financing-business/training-grant/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Job Skills Partnership’s&lt;/a&gt; Low Income Worker Training Program to help alleviate poverty and address other social challenges. The grant will fund health care occupational training on the Leech Lake and Red Lake Nation reservations, and is an excellent example of how targeted job training can simultaneously address industry needs and the persistent unemployment that drags on the region’s American Indian population.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Unemployment is a problem in regional American Indian communities, but not equally so for all segments of the population. At nearly every age, men suffer higher unemployment rates than women on American Indian reservations located in Northwest Minnesota (Chart 1). The largest unemployment disparity between genders is found in the 25- to 34-year-old age group, where men are unemployed almost 12 percent more of the time (26.0 percent) than women (14.3 percent).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/031816-nw-chart1_tcm1045-222033.jpg&quot; title=&quot;2014 unemployment by age and gender, NW MN American Indian reservations&quot; alt=&quot;2014 unemployment by age and gender, NW MN American Indian reservations&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;031816-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, this age group does not have the highest unemployment rates. Males from 16 to 24 years of age living on the reservations registered over 40 percent unemployment, and females in the same age group did not fare much better, registering a 33.7 percent unemployment rate. Conversely, both genders see unemployment rates fall rapidly after age 35, even dropping to the single digits above 55 years of age.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Although the NWIOIC health care grant offers opportunities for men to train in non-traditional occupations such as Certified Nursing Assistants and Community Health Workers, females still greatly outnumber males in these occupations. Instead, other occupational training may be more suited to the young male demographic that registers the highest levels of unemployment on the reservations. For example, men outnumber women by more than 3-to-1 in production occupations among Native Americans in Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employers in Northwest Minnesota reported nearly 650 production occupations in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED’s Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt;. Overall, just 14 percent of those openings required post-secondary education, though that varied greatly by occupation. For example, 78 percent of the machinist vacancies and about 30 percent of the openings for both welders and computer-controlled machine tool operators require post-secondary education. Those occupations also tended to offer higher wages (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/031816-nw-table1_tcm1045-222034.jpg&quot; title=&quot;4th quarter 2015 job vacancies, NW MN production occupations&quot; alt=&quot;4th quarter 2015 job vacancies, NW MN production occupations&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;031816-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In light of this, MJSP board also funded two training programs in Northwest Minnesota last September that target American Indians in production occupations – one on a reservation and one off:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Through MJSP funding, 48 individuals will receive training from the Greater Bemidji-MN Innovation Institute in one of two areas: CNC Machine Operator training, a 160-hour course that prepares trainees for certification from the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS), and Mechatronics, an 80-hour course providing entry-level skills into machine maintenance and machine repair careers.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Through Oshkiimaajitahdah Career Services, Red Lake Nation’s one-stop career center, MJSP funding will support training in Intermediate Welding for 30 low-income individuals. By using the National Center for Construction Education and Research welding coursework, participants will gain industry-recognized credentials in preparation for employment with local manufacturers.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In total, the two programs will train 78 workers from low-income backgrounds, with a priority given to Native American and other minority groups, and connect the training to both the regional manufacturing and construction industries. You can find more information on both programs on the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/business/financing-business/training-grant/mjsp/#4&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;MJSP Funded Projects and Grant Management webpage&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304256</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:33Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Preparing for Millenials</Title><title>2016-01-29 Millenials ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304258&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2016-01-29T18:13:02Z</Date><ShortDescription>Rethinking emerging leaders.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Throughout 2015, unemployment rates in Northwest Minnesota returned to low levels reminiscent of the 1990s, while employers reported a record number of job vacancies. This has created a tight labor market, which is only projected to get tighter in the future. By 2025, the labor force is projected to add approximately 9,500 workers between the ages of 16 and 44, but lose 14,175 workers aged 45 years and older (Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/021216-nw-chart1_tcm1045-222031.jpg&quot; title=&quot;NW MN labor force projections by age, 2015 - 2025&quot; alt=&quot;NW MN labor force projections by age, 2015 - 2025&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;021216-nw-chart1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Overall, the region is projected to lose about 4,700 workers total. It’s likely that the pace which younger workers and millennials will attempt to fill the void left by baby boomers will increase through that time. But what will be missed are the years of experience, vast connections, and leadership traits of the baby boom workforce exiters.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;These assets won&apos;t be easy to replace. By numbers alone, it will be nearly impossible. Greater Minnesota Rising (GMR) set out to qualitatively rethink the workforce environment that regional industries, organizations and communities will operate in, and learn how they can adapt. The GMR qualitative research project was funded by the West Central Initiative and the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls to address these changes, and won a research grant from the Mary Page University-Community Partnership in summer 2015. More on the research questions and other project information appears in &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-304237&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;December’s Local Look blog post&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Leveraging Workforce Changes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The magnitude of the growing influence of millennials in every facet of the economy can’t be overstated, and employers would be wise to take notice. Unlike previous generations, demand for available workers will increase, which may make these job seekers’ work and life preferences of pivotal interest. But the generational shift will also challenge industries’ ability to keep up with the times. Not only will employers need to attract and retain a new workforce; the makeup of a firm’s workforce will largely &lt;em&gt;determine&lt;/em&gt; its outlook, innovation, and cultural purview. In other words, life experience in millennial culture may be as valuable as years in the workforce in general.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;From that premise, the GMR research evolved in unexpected ways. Originally, the research proposed to learn more about young professionals in northwestern Minnesota and how those in the millennial generation might step into leadership roles. However, it quickly became clear the leadership required is not only of the millennial variety. Through academic literature, focus groups, and interviews with local hiring managers and other stakeholders, GMR found there are many engaged and talented young professionals in the region. So attracting and retaining &lt;em&gt;emerging leaders&lt;/em&gt; was a more comprehensive, qualitative, and appropriate subject.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The GMR research indicated that an &lt;em&gt;emerging leader&lt;/em&gt; possesses leadership potential but is ‘untested’ or lacks the years of experience that a ‘seasoned’ veteran might have. In addition, focus groups highlighted several other key factors:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;While many participants defined emerging leaders as being young or millennials, a person of any age can be an emerging leader.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Emerging leaders have started to see success, but still have the potential and opportunity to grow.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;An emerging leader could indicate someone who is emerging into a new field, rather than solely someone who is new to the workforce.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Interestingly, &lt;em&gt;emerging leaders&lt;/em&gt; are defined more by their circumstances than their age. The strong, persistent leadership exercised for by baby boomers has often kept potential Gen X leaders on the sidelines, and they&apos;re prepared to play a significant role with millennials in the workforce transition. This is good news for several reasons. The retention of Gen X workers addresses the gap in experience plaguing their millennial colleagues, and they have knowledge of and connections among both younger and older generations. In other words, their leadership may transcend the often negative perceptions millennials and baby boomers have of each other’s work habits, values, and approaches to technology.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;West Central World Café&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In mid-December, GMR hosted a World Café in Fergus Falls with 30 participants from over 100 square miles. The goal was to develop recommendations for communities to engage and connect emerging leaders in northwestern Minnesota. The principles that emerged speak to what emerging leaders’ value when deciding on a place to live and work:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Relationship-focused.&lt;/strong&gt; Communities are people, not location. There needs to be face-to-face interaction in community engagement activities.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Intentional welcoming is important to engagement.&lt;/strong&gt; It is important to be welcomed by other newcomers and long-time residents. New community members need to be recruited and participation by long-term residents or established leaders is key.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Shared experiences and values.&lt;/strong&gt; Recommendations should build upon shared experiences and values to support openness and generate loyalty.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cause and issue-oriented events.&lt;/strong&gt; There needs to be a cause or purpose to an event besides networking. Networking is a desired result, but not a primary motivation itself.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Diverse opportunities.&lt;/strong&gt; Events and offerings need a variety of opportunities for different demographics. Established community organizations should consider how to support newly arising groups growing out of shared areas of interest, identity, or life stage.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Local communities and employers from across West Central Minnesota appeared ready to work together and rebuild/market the life-work balance that millennials value. If they are to draw new workers wholesale, rural communities can ill-afford to approach regional challenges on their own for much longer. By working together, they can offer a diverse and collaborative atmosphere that emerging leaders thrive in and millennials expect.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you are interested in learning more or helping to support Greater Minnesota Rising’s work, please visit their&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.minnesotarising.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;website&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;and/or contact our leadership team.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304258</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:33Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Cultural Education and Health Care Training</Title><title>2015-12-28 Cultural ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304237&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-12-28T16:24:41Z</Date><ShortDescription>New program and new classes offered.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;It&apos;s hard to find a health care facility that doesn&apos;t need entry-level staff in northwest Minnesota, said Tim Qualley, DEED business services representative in Bemidji.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Data from DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand&lt;/a&gt; tool backs up his assessment. Both certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and home health aides are among the top 10 occupations in demand in the Headwaters economic development region, which includes Beltrami, Hubbard, Clearwater, Mahnomen and Lake of the Woods counties. In addition, it&apos;s estimated that over 2,300 CNA and home health aide positions will open up in the larger &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/regional-lmi/northwest-lmi.jsp&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota planning region&lt;/a&gt; by 2022.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;To help fill the need, a new project from the Northwest Indian OIC (NWIOIC) will recruit and train 48 low-income residents in the most racially diverse region in the state outside of the Twin Cities for highly targeted health care occupations. As shown in &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-304238&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;last month&apos;s blog&lt;/a&gt;, programs like this are being funded to address the employment disparities between American Indians and other ethnic populations in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED awarded the NWIOIC a $164,302 grant under the &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/business/financing-business/training-grant/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Job Skills Partnership&lt;/a&gt; (MJSP) to help fund the training under MJSP&apos;s Low Income Worker Training Program. The grant funds training for individuals with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In this project, the NWIOIC, Tribal Spiritual Educators, and Optivation - a joint venture of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.bemidjistate.edu/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Bemidji State University&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ntcmn.edu/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Technical College&lt;/a&gt; - will deliver a comprehensive set of skills for the workplace as well as traditional worldview and methodology.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&quot;This program is the result of many people and organizations coming together in a true partnership,&quot; said Kerry Ross, associate director, Optivation. &quot;Everyone is working hard to give students every opportunity to complete the program, such as flexible delivery locations, styles and unique support structures, and challenging the status quo. NWIOIC asks questions and presents ideas beyond anything I have done in my career.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Employment Outlook &lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Classes will be held on site in Bemidji, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lltc.edu/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Leech Lake&lt;/a&gt; and Oshkiimaajitahdah (New Beginnings) in Red Lake. Trainees will learn First Aid and CPR, Customer Service, Intermediate Computer Skills, and Effective Communication in the Workplace and become certified as home health aides, community health workers, medical coding specialists, and/or CNAs. The tribal health care worker training approach will give students greater in-depth, more focused training than what&apos;s available through standard CNA and Community Health Care Worker programs - and enhance their employability.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/jvs/ChooseAreaMap.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Job Vacancy Survey data&lt;/a&gt; for Northwest Minnesota shows the current median wage offer for nursing assistant openings is $11.54 per hour - slightly below the statewide median wage offer for nursing assistants, $11.99. However, some employers in the region are beginning to raise starting wages to $14.00 per hour or more. As the labor market tightens, other employer are likely to follow suit.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Community health workers - a position that many graduates of the program might consider given its holistic training approach - have a &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=211094andgeog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;median hourly wage of $15.95 in Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt;. According to employment projections, DEED estimates there are &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/Results.aspx?dataset=1andgeog=2701000000andcode=211094&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;270 projected openings&lt;/a&gt; for that job across the state from 2012-2022, including 10 in &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/Results.aspx?dataset=1andgeog=2709NW0000andcode=211094&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota&lt;/a&gt; (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/121815-nw-table1_tcm1045-222041.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Employment projections, NW MN 2012-2022&quot; alt=&quot;Employment projections, NW MN 2012-2022&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;121815-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;According to the grant proposal, area health care employers that may be expected to hire the trainees once they&apos;re certified include:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Jourdain/Perpich Extended Care Facility - Red Lake &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ihs.gov/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Indian Health Service&lt;/a&gt; - Bemidji and Cass Lake &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lssmn.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Lutheran Social Services&lt;/a&gt; - Bemidji and throughout the region &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.good-sam.com/locations&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Good Samaritan Society&lt;/a&gt; - Bemidji, Blackduck and Clearbrook &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.sanfordhealth.org/locations#t=Grid&amp;amp;radius=1000&amp;amp;srt=%40fdistance46747%20ascending&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Sanford Bemidji Medical Center&lt;/a&gt; - Bemidji and clinics throughout the region &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Golden LivingCenter - Walker &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cornerstoneshc.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cornerstone Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers&lt;/a&gt; - Bagley, Fosston and Kelliher &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.essentiahealth.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Essentia Health&lt;/a&gt; - Park Rapids and clinics throughout the region&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s business service representatives add that most of these employers have career ladders and tuition grants to help their employees continue their education and move on to CNA, licensed practical nurse, and registered nurse positions, helping to fill more employment needs at the region&apos;s health care facilities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304237</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:26Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Diversity and Unemployment in NW</Title><title>2015-11-30 Diversity ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304238&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-11-30T16:24:53Z</Date><ShortDescription>Breaking down barriers in NW Minnesota.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Minnesota has been a popular state lately in the national news. In addition to being ranked the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/americas-top-states-for-business.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;top state for business in 2015 by CNBC&lt;/a&gt;, several other reports tout our way of life, economy and recreational amenities. Patch of Earth, a website that creates and curates smart news, ideas and articles, recently compiled a variety of lists and found Minneapolis - St. Paul is the best place to live in the nation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/the-miracle-of-minneapolis/384975/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;An article by The Atlantic&lt;/a&gt; also praised Minnesota&apos;s economic achievements, calling it &quot;The Miracle of Minneapolis.&quot; The positive press is great, but like true Minnesotans, leaders here also know there are several areas that still need improvement. High on that list is the state&apos;s socioeconomic disparity based on race and ethnicity. In response to The Atlantic article, Sean Kershaw and Juventino Meza of the &lt;a href=&quot;http://citizensleague.org&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Citizens League&lt;/a&gt; provided one explanation for how the issue persists: &quot;A majority population of highly educated white people who do not leave + newcomers and growing communities that seek the same things as the majority population + American Indian and African-American communities that have been historically marginalized = a deep racial disparities gap.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;When it comes to unemployment, this disparity has been clearly evident. DEED estimated the unemployment rate of black workers was over 10 percent higher than white workers in September 2015, according to monthly data from the Current Population Survey (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/110615-nw-figure1_tcm1045-222038.jpg&quot; title=&quot;MN unemployment by selected race or ethnicity&quot; alt=&quot;MN unemployment by selected race or ethnicity&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;110615-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Though Northwest Minnesota has far fewer Black or African American workers in the labor force, unemployment rates were over a percent lower in Northwest Minnesota than in the Twin Cities metro or the state as a whole, according to data from the 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year estimates.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;However, unemployment rates among American Indians and Alaska Natives and Hispanic or Latino were three to five percent higher in Northwest Minnesota. Other Races, Asians, and those of Two or More Races showed similar unemployment rates in Northwest as in the Twin Cities and the state (Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/110615-nw-table1_tcm1045-222039.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Employment characteristics by race and Hispanic origin&quot; alt=&quot;Employment characteristics by race and Hispanic origin&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;110615-nw-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Interestingly, American Indians and Alaskan Natives in Northwest Minnesota participated in the labor force more so than in the other regions, yet face higher unemployment rates. Unlike the Twin Cities or the rest of Minnesota, American Indians are the second largest ethnic group in Northwest Minnesota, and the unemployment disparity in their communities likely reflects the &apos;historical marginalization&apos; the Citizens League spoke of.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Ongoing efforts within American Indian communities are fighting to end this disparity. Tribal colleges and adult learning programs on the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.wetcc.edu/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;White Earth&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.rlnc.education/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Red Lake&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lltc.edu/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Leech Lake&lt;/a&gt; reservations train job seekers across the Ojibwe nation. The tribes also work together to create employment opportunities through the Northern Minnesota Tribal Economic Development Commission.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED aims to help break down employment barriers and create business opportunities for communities of color in Minnesota through the newly established Office of Career and Business Opportunity. The resources and practices the office provides will supplement ongoing tribal efforts in Northwest Minnesota, and help minimize the unemployment disparity in American Indian communities here and elsewhere.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304238</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:26Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Transportation Equipment on the Move</Title><title>2015-10-20 Transportation ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304243&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-10-20T15:26:30Z</Date><ShortDescription>Good news for northwest.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;After suffering major setbacks during the recession, manufacturing of transportation equipment is regaining momentum in northwest Minnesota, a region well known for deep expertise in the production of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, boats and other vehicles.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Home to some of the industry&apos;s most recognized brands (Arctic Cat, Polaris, Lund), the region has recaptured a significant portion of statewide employment in the transportation equipment sector.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In fact, northwest Minnesota is home to more than 42 percent of the state&apos;s transportation equipment manufacturing jobs. The region&apos;s 37 transportation equipment manufacturing firms provide 4,853 jobs, an average of 131 jobs per employer. That&apos;s easily the largest average number of employees of any manufacturing sector in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The turnaround is good news for an industry that suffered major employment losses during the recession, outpacing losses across all manufacturing industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;From 2008 to 2010, the entire manufacturing sector had employment losses of about 3 percent. Transportation equipment manufacturing experienced much deeper job cuts - 27 percent - during those years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;By 2014, transportation equipment recovered most of those jobs, and the sector has raised annual wages by nearly $50 million since 2011, an increase of 22 percent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;At more than $270 million, transportation equipment manufacturing paid the most wages annually of any manufacturing sector in northwest Minnesota in 2014.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Expect the transportation equipment manufacturing industry to keep moving forward. Our &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/employment-outlook/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Employment Outlook&lt;/a&gt; tool shows that transportation equipment manufacturers are projected to add jobs twice as fast as the manufacturing industry overall, and about 2 percent faster than the total of all industries in northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;If the region gains jobs at the projected rate, transportation equipment manufacturing will account for more than one-third of the region&apos;s net new manufacturing jobs in the next decade.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304243</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:25Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Workforce Sync</Title><title>2015-09-22 Workforce ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304252&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-09-22T15:30:38Z</Date><ShortDescription>Education vs. job opportunities out of sync.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The educational attainment of a community is often a major factor in how well its economy performs. A well-educated workforce can spur innovation, increase production, and promote growth. Sometimes though, the education level in a community can be out of sync with what employers need, or employment opportunities might not satisfy job seekers. Most of the time it&apos;s a little of both.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This appears to be the case in Economic Development Region 5 (EDR 5), which is made up of Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties. Looking at data from DEED&apos;s Job Vacancy Survey and educational attainment statistics from the American Community Survey, there appears to be some disparity between the education levels of workers in the region and the training requirements of the job vacancies that employers are posting.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The results of the Job Vacancy Survey from the second quarter of 2015 were recently released, showing that two-thirds of vacancies in EDR 5 require a high school education or less (see Table 1). Not surprisingly, the median wage offer of $10.24 was relatively low when compared to the state, which had a median wage offer of $12.99. We discussed a similar wage discrepancy based on Job Vacancy Survey results in the &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-304245&quot;&gt;Local Look blog back in June&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/22sep15-nw-blog-table1_tcm1045-222027.png&quot; title=&quot;Economic development region 5 job vacancy stats, 2nd quarter 2015&quot; alt=&quot;Economic development region 5 job vacancy stats, 2nd quarter 2015&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;22sep15-nw-blog-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Though it may seem low that only 35% of job vacancies in EDR 5 require postsecondary education, that number has remained relatively consistent in the past couple years, ranging between 23% and 40% over the past five survey periods. On the surface, this appears to be a good match with the local workforce - considering only about 30% of EDR 5 residents between the ages of 25 and 64 years have attained a postsecondary degree, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau&apos;s American Community Survey. That only counts people who have received an associate&apos;s, bachelors, or higher degree, though. When people with some college but no degree are factored in, the balance shifts considerably. In sum, nearly two-thirds (63.3%) of EDR 5&apos;s 25 to 64 year old labor force participants have some college experience, while the other 36.7% have a high school diploma or less (see Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/22sep15-nw-blog-table2_tcm1045-222028.png&quot; title=&quot;Educational attainment, EDR 5 population aged 25 to 64 years, 2009 - 2013&quot; alt=&quot;Educational attainment, EDR 5 population aged 25 to 64 years, 2009 - 2013&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;22sep15-nw-blog-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Those with no postsecondary education made up a smaller portion of the labor force and tended to have higher unemployment rates in EDR 5. The group of residents with some college can also include those who may be working while earning a degree - an option that may become more popular given the rising cost of education. Workers with higher educational attainment tended to have lower unemployment rates.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In terms of the number of those looking for work (the unemployed), and those who may be available now or in the future but are not currently in the labor force, there are a lot more people with some college experience out there than employers might think or need.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Interestingly, the number of unemployed workers at both education levels is nearly identical in EDR 5. According to American Community Survey estimates, there were 2,291 unemployed people with a high school diploma or less in the region in 2013, and 2,495 unemployed people that had some college or a degree. For those who were not currently in the labor force, there were 8,386 people with a high school diploma or less, and 8,147 people with some college experience or a degree (see Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/22sep15-nw-blog-figure1_tcm1045-133211.png&quot; title=&quot;EDR 5 Labor Force characteristics of the population aged 25 to 64 years by education level&quot; alt=&quot;EDR 5 Labor Force characteristics of the population aged 25 to 64 years by education level&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;22sep15-nw-blog-figure1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This may be very encouraging news for employers in EDR 5 who are looking to add motivated personnel to their workforce. Unfortunately for jobseekers with higher educational attainment, they may find fewer job vacancies in the region that require or value their level of postsecondary education. The underemployment of workers leaves unused potential in the labor market, while workforce shortages and a mismatch in skill demands create other imbalances in the labor market. Raising wage offers - and expectations - may also draw more workers into the labor force, and engage those looking for work in a way that can make the labor force more in sync in the region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304252</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:25Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Creative Class Occupations</Title><title>2015-08-17 Creative ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304236&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-08-17T15:24:21Z</Date><ShortDescription>What are those &apos;creative classes&apos;?</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Just over a decade ago, Richard Florida coined the term &quot;Creative Class&quot; to help explain the economic and demographic shifts in major U.S. cities. His new social and economic theories focused on the movement of creative class workers, which included &quot;people in design, education, arts, music and entertainment; whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or creative content.&quot; This includes people in management, business, engineering, computer and mathematics, science, and other related occupations (see below).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/17aug15-nw-blog-table2_tcm1045-222025.png&quot; title=&quot;List of different occupation classes&quot; alt=&quot;List of different occupation classes&quot; style=&quot;width: 50%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;17aug15-nw-blog-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Much has been written about Florida&apos;s theories, from how it is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/09/29/mapped-how-the-creative-class-is-dividing-u-s-cities/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;socially-dividing&lt;/a&gt; cities to being &lt;a href=&quot;http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/125533/2/Creative.pdf&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;a key to rural growth&lt;/a&gt; - especially those areas with large production industries. Most, however, agree it is a powerful metric and it goes beyond educational attainment unlike traditional measurements of human capital. By examining what type of work people do, Florida&apos;s distinctions provide insight to the diversity of occupations and industries in a region.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;More recently, in a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/09/creative-class-density/62571/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;study of the density of artistic and cultural creatives,&lt;/a&gt; Florida placed Minneapolis fifth in the nation, a hair behind San Francisco; and in another graphic anticipating national growth in creative jobs, Minneapolis-St. Paul lands in Florida&apos;s top 10. In an unrelated study by CNBC this year, Minnesota was also ranked as &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnbc.com/id/102759561&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;the BEST state in the nation for business&lt;/a&gt; in 2015, led by the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnbc.com/id/101807315&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;diverse workforce and industrial makeup of the Twin Cities&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Due to a very different industry mix, Northwest Minnesota has a smaller concentration of jobs in the creative class than the Twin Cities. Working class and service class occupations still dominate the northwest region, but employers seem to recognize some value in bringing on more creative class workers. According to analysis of recent data, 28 percent of all jobs and 23 percent of current vacancies in Northwest Minnesota come out of the creative class (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/17aug15-nw-blog-table1_tcm1045-222024.png&quot; title=&quot;NW MN job vacancies by occupation class, 4th qtr 2014&quot; alt=&quot;NW MN job vacancies by occupation class, 4th qtr 2014&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;17aug15-nw-blog-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As rural employers have rebounded from the Great Recession and as the labor market tightens further, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.startribune.com/reshaped-labor-market-spurs-workplace-change/310154311/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;industries will be competing for workers in ways they haven&apos;t had to before&lt;/a&gt;. Some of Northwest Minnesota&apos;s larger employers such as &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.digikey.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DigiKey&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.essentiahealth.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Essentia Health&lt;/a&gt; (among many others) are already dealing with workforce challenges.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;But employers don&apos;t simply need more workers, they need those who can help them adjust to the looming labor shortage. &quot;This shift has much to do with fundamental changes in our economy that favor websites over smokestacks,&quot; &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minnpost.com/pollen/2013/08/focus-rural-minnesotas-creative-class-not-chasing-smokestacks&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;says Aaron Klemz in a past MinnPost blog&lt;/a&gt;. If the creative class in a region is a good indicator of how adaptable an area is, Northwest Minnesota is reacting differently to the changes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The Northwest region may not need as many creative workers, but there are some interesting differences between the hiring strategies of Twin Cities and Northwest employers when it comes to filling creative class occupations. Employers in the Twin Cities appear to value work experience more than education in creative class occupations, while Northwest employers are more focused on education. Over 81 percent of creative class vacancies in the region required post-secondary training, compared to 76 percent in the Twin Cities (see Chart 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/17aug15-blog-chart1_tcm1045-133210.png&quot; title=&quot;NW MN job vacancy stats, creative class occupations&quot; alt=&quot;NW MN job vacancy stats, creative class occupations&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;17aug15-blog-chart1&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;What may represent an even greater challenge for Northwest Minnesota employers is that the median wage offer for creative class jobs were $9 per hour more in the Twin Cities - a gap that outweighs even &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;the cost of living differences between the regions&lt;/a&gt;. Essentially, employers in Northwest Minnesota are asking for creative class job seekers with higher educational attainment (and therefore might have higher student loan debt) to move to their region for lower pay. That obviously makes it more difficult for employers in Northwest Minnesota to compete for talent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304236</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:23Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>NW Minnesota: A Temporary Fix</Title><title>2015-07-15 Temporary ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304241&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-07-15T15:25:37Z</Date><ShortDescription>What&apos;s happening behind the scene.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As Northwest Minnesota&apos;s economy has regained strength and added jobs in the past five years, Administrative Support and Waste Management Services has been one of the fastest growing industries. Much of this growth, however, was happening behind the scenes in the Employment Services sector, which is best known for providing temporary staffing solutions for other employers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;When businesses see increased demand for their products and services, many initially ramp up with temporary workers because they are easier and less expensive to both hire and lay off, depending on conditions. That makes the employment services sector an excellent economic indicator - reflecting employment gains or losses across all industries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Northwest Minnesota, the administrative support services sector added 1,838 net new jobs from 2010 to 2014, accounting for more than one-fifth of the region&apos;s total job growth during that timeframe. The employment services sub-sector, which had about 2,250 jobs at 51 firms in 2014, essentially doubled in size over the past five years. Even more impressive, the Office Administrative Services sub-sector enjoyed a 350 percent increase - jumping from just over 200 jobs in 2010 to 940 jobs in 2014 (see Table 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While temp workers help employers react quickly to changing economic conditions, they were exposed to uncertainty. Temporary jobs can last anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of years, with no guarantee of permanent employment. Growth in the industry is not always steady either, ebbing and flowing with the overall economy. While they are among the first to be hired, temporary workers are also often the first to be laid off when businesses need to cut back.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/15jul15-nw-blog-table1_tcm1045-222021.png&quot; title=&quot;NW MN industry employment statistics&quot; alt=&quot;NW MN industry employment statistics&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;15jul15-nw-blog-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Still, for people who need jobs, these temporary positions can be a good opportunity to earn money, update skills, gain experience, and take a first step toward permanent employment. The temporary setting also gives employers a chance to test workers before perhaps hiring them as regular employees as business becomes more stable.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Many staffing agencies in the region work with our &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/workforce-centers/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota WorkForce Centers&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.minnesotaworks.net/default.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;MinnesotaWorks.net online job bank&lt;/a&gt;; consistently listing their employment vacancies and receiving assistance in referring or placing applicants for temporary employment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304241</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:23Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Work Supplements</Title><title>2015-06-10 Work ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304245&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-06-10T15:30:55Z</Date><ShortDescription>Why employers aren&apos;t finding workers.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Despite a growing &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/laus/&quot;&gt;regional labor force&lt;/a&gt; that has increased by more than 10,000 workers in the last year, there are many open jobs in Northwest Minnesota left unfilled. In the latest results from &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;DEED&apos;s Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt;, employers in Northwest Minnesota reported over 8,500 job vacancies; begging the question - why aren&apos;t employers finding workers?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For starters, let&apos;s look at the quality of job offers and whether they allow job seekers to meet their basic costs of living. While some money may be better than none, job seekers with families and other financial responsibilities are interested in sustainable careers that keep them away from job seeking permanently. As one job seeker I met recently put it, &quot;Looking for a good job is full-time work!&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Job seekers and employers can both benefit by taking a closer look at the most recent Job Vacancy Survey (JVS) results in Northwest Minnesota. First and foremost, occupational groups that require postsecondary education typically start employees out at higher wages. Popular occupation groups that require postsecondary education in the region include healthcare and education, management, computer and mathematical, and business and finance. The average of the median wage offers was nearly $16 per hour in occupation groups where more than half the job vacancies require postsecondary education (see Table 1). According to DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cost of Living tool&lt;/a&gt;, this exceeds what the average family with one child, one full-time worker and one part-time worker needs to make to meet its basic needs in Northwest Minnesota by over $2 an hour (see Table 2).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/10jun15-table1_tcm1045-222019.png&quot; title=&quot;Job vacancy stats by occupation group, NW MN, qtr. 4 2014&quot; alt=&quot;Job vacancy stats by occupation group, NW MN, qtr. 4 2014&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;10jun15-table1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/10jun1-table2_tcm1045-222018.png&quot; title=&quot;Cost of living, NW MN&quot; alt=&quot;Cost of living, NW MN&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;10jun1-table2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Less than one-third of job vacancies are in occupational groups such as food preparation, production, and sales require postsecondary education, where the average median wage offer was $11.36 per hour (see Table 3). While those wages would make it harder to afford a basic cost of living in the region, the median wage offer in four of the occupational groups - transportation, construction, production, and installation, maintenance, and repair occupations - still met the cost of living threshold.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/10jun15-table3_tcm1045-222020.png&quot; title=&quot;Job vacancies stats by occupation group, NW MN q4 2014&quot; alt=&quot;Job vacancies stats by occupation group, NW MN q4 2014&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;10jun15-table3&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Beyond wages, employers may also offer additional incentives. For example, only one-third of the job vacancies not likely to require postsecondary education offer health insurance, which is largely considered the most valuable job benefit. This is compared to almost half of the vacancies in occupational groups that are more likely to require postsecondary education.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So should job seekers invest in postsecondary education before looking for a job? Not necessarily - employers will often hire workers they can train themselves or subsidize education. For those who need work now but are still thinking of the future, this is an attractive incentive. Overall, whether job seekers bring an education with them or find it on the job, the additional skills education produces can lead to better wages and more opportunity for growth on the job.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304245</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:23Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Willing and Able: Teens Ready to Work</Title><title>2015-05-13 Willing ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304244&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-05-13T15:27:13Z</Date><ShortDescription>There are many opportunities now.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As schools begin to let students out for the summer and business continue to post &quot;help wanted&quot; signs for workers, teenagers have many opportunities to earn money, learn work ethic, and gain experience through summer employment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Teenagers provide a welcome bump in the available labor force across Minnesota, especially since Minnesota&apos;s unemployment rate lingering below 4 percent for several months has left employers with fewer available workers to choose from. According to the most recent &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; results, employers in the region reported thousands of jobs that require a high school diploma or less. The good news is that Minnesota has the seventh-highest labor force participation rate for teenagers in the country, at 48.5 percent (compared to about 33 percent nationally, according to the American Community Survey).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The labor force participation rate was even higher for teens in Northwest Minnesota, where almost 56 percent of people aged 16-19 were in the labor force over the last 5 years. That translates to over 17,300 teenaged workers, or about 6 percent of the total regional labor force. Teenage labor force participation rates ranged from a low of 30.9 percent in Norman County to a high of 67.2 percent in Douglas County (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.startribune.com/local/301328181.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;home to Alexandria and its new high school&lt;/a&gt;). In 20 of the 26 counties in the region, more than half of teens participate in the labor force (see Map 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/may2015-nw-blog-map1_tcm1045-133215.png&quot; title=&quot;Labor force participation rate, 16 - 19 year olds&quot; alt=&quot;Labor force participation rate, 16 - 19 year olds&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;may2015-nw-blog-map1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Not surprisingly, teens are most likely to work in the accommodation and food services and retail trade industries, which together account for over two-thirds of jobs held by teenagers. Data shows that teens also find jobs in other industries, such as: health care and social assistance, which includes child day care services and nursing and residential care facilities; other services, which includes personal care, pet care, civic and social organizations, and repair and maintenance; arts, entertainment and recreation, which includes amusement parks, golf courses, and sports teams; and public administration, which includes local government services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&quot;Prospects for teenagers finding jobs this summer are better than in recent years, primarily because of an improving economy and tighter labor market,&quot; said Oriane Casale of DEED&apos;s Labor Market Information Office. &quot;With strong employment growth in both the retail and the accommodation and food service sectors in March, this might be a great summer for teens in Minnesota to get some work experience and earn their first paychecks.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Of the 17,300 teenaged workers in Northwest Minnesota, about 2,800 were considered unemployed and actively seeking work. That means teens in Northwest Minnesota had an unemployment rate of 16 percent in 2013, which was about two and half times higher than the unemployment rate for the total population. Unemployment rates were lowest for workers between 25 and 54 years of age. While teen rates may seem high in comparison, the state&apos;s 11.3 percent unemployment rate for teens was the sixth lowest nationally in 2014. The new figures are an improvement from teen jobless rates that surged to more than 20 percent during the recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Five counties in Northwest Minnesota had teen unemployment rates below 10 percent: Lake of the Woods (3.1 percent), Traverse (8.5 percent), Kittson (9.1 percent), Roseau (9.6 percent), and Wilkin County (9.8 percent), which are all primarily rural areas. Counties that are home to major colleges and universities - Beltrami (28.2 percent), Stevens (27.6 percent), and Polk (19.5 percent) - had the highest jobless rates for teens (see Map 2). Employers in these counties may have an easier time recruiting teenagers to fill their jobs this summer.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/may2015-nw-blog-map2_tcm1045-133216.png&quot; title=&quot;Unemployment rate, 16 - 19 year olds&quot; alt=&quot;Unemployment rate, 16 - 19 year olds&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;may2015-nw-blog-map2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;DEED offers services and programs to help teens find work. The agency&apos;s &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.minnesotaworks.net/&quot;&gt;MinnesotaWorks.net&lt;/a&gt; job bank lists nearly 84,000 jobs, many of them suitable for teenagers. Job opportunities also are available through DEED&apos;s &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/find-a-job/targeted-services/youth-employment/&quot;&gt;youth employment, training and education programs&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304244</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:23Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Workforce Maintenance</Title><title>2015-04-16 Workforce ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304246&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-04-16T15:30:38Z</Date><ShortDescription>The workforce holds steady.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In last month&apos;s &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/northwest-blog.jsp?id=1045-304240&quot;&gt;Local Look&lt;/a&gt;, we took a closer look at the manufacturing industry in &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/rws/Results.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Economic Development Region 1&lt;/a&gt; (EDR 1), and noted that &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/Results.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;lower-level production jobs&lt;/a&gt; in assembly and machine operation were paying more in the seven county Northwest Minnesota region than in the state overall.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The latest data from the 4th Quarter 2014 &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Job Vacancy Survey&lt;/a&gt; show similar information about these jobs and the manufacturing industry in this part of the state. The manufacturing industry reported 191 job vacancies - nearly double the number reported during the 2nd Quarter of 2014, and a 25 percent increase from one-year prior.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota again has competitive wage offers for new workers in production occupations - and in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations, where the median wage offer was $3 higher per hour in the region than the state. Median wage offers for higher-level manufacturing occupations like engineers, drafters, and supervisors of production workers, however, were much lower in Northwest Minnesota than the state. Table 1 shows job vacancy results in EDR 1 and comparisons to wage offers in the state. For engineering and drafting occupations, for example, median wage offers were about 25 percent lower in the region, amounting to a difference between $12,500 and $25,000 per year for a full-time job. This disparity might result in manufacturers facing hiring difficulties for these positions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/16apr15-table1_tcm1045-222022.gif&quot; title=&quot;Economic development region 1 manufacturing-related job vacancies: q4 2014&quot; alt=&quot;Economic development region 1 manufacturing-related job vacancies: q4 2014&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;16apr15-table1&quot; /&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Salary data from DEED&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oes/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupational Employment Statistics program&lt;/a&gt; shows the wage gap shrinks in some of these occupations as employees move up the ladder. Table 2 shows that in one case, the disparity even reverses itself, with Electrical Engineers in the region earning higher wages in the 75th percentile statewide.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/16apr15-table2-nw_tcm1045-222023.png&quot; title=&quot;Economic development region 1 salary data for manufacturing-related occupations, 2014&quot; alt=&quot;Economic development region 1 salary data for manufacturing-related occupations, 2014&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;16apr15-table2-nw&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So why the big difference in starting wage offers? Perhaps employers want to make sure a candidate is serious about staying in the region before they give a pay raise. Or, maybe the wage offers are based on a probationary period, and then are increased more quickly over time. Employers also likely rely on the region&apos;s &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;lower cost of living&lt;/a&gt; and less congested traffic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304246</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:21Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Production Wages Stand Out</Title><title>2015-03-13 Production ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304240&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-03-13T15:25:21Z</Date><ShortDescription>Wages in many manufacturing industries are outpacing nation.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;While the US economy &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;continues to add jobs&lt;/a&gt; on a monthly basis and Minnesota gained over 36,000 jobs over the past year (a 1.3 percent growth rate), there is growing discourse regarding wages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;As some have &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/28/business/economy/recovery-has-created-far-more-low-wage-jobs-than-better-paid-ones.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;reported&lt;/a&gt;, however, these new jobs are often in low-paying service occupations, causing many workers not to feel the full effects of the economic recovery.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Regardless of the year or political discourse, we can hardly expect an economy to recover evenly and consistently in every state and industry at the same time. On the contrary, industry diversity is what makes our national and local economies so resilient.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In Minnesota, manufacturing has long been a major &lt;a href=&quot;https://mn.gov/deed/ed/minnesota-industries/manufacturing/mfgweek/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;contributor of jobs&lt;/a&gt;, payroll, and Gross Domestic Product, not to mention a source of innovation and community pride. Manufacturing added about 10,000 net new jobs throughout Minnesota in the past year, accounting for more than 20 percent of the state&apos;s total job growth, and over one-third of the &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/rws/Results.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota Economic Development Region&apos;s&lt;/a&gt; total job growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota, well known for major employers such as Arctic Cat, DigiKey, and Polaris, now employs more than 8,000 workers in the manufacturing industry. These jobs, including team assemblers and machine setters, dominate production work in the region, helping to explain why regional wages are so competitive.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Wages in many production occupations are higher in Minnesota than the rest of the nation including for first-line supervisors, computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool programmers, tool and die makers, boiler operators, and many others. Assembly occupations in Northwest Minnesota actually offer even higher median hourly wages than in the state as a whole, perhaps making the jobs more attractive to job seekers (see Figure 1). They also typically only require a high school education to start.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/figure-1-nw-median-hourly-wages_tcm1045-133214.png&quot; title=&quot;2014 median hourly wages, nw mn economic development region&quot; alt=&quot;2014 median hourly wages, nw mn economic development region&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;figure-1-nw-median-hourly-wages&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Figure 1 also shows that the &lt;a href=&quot;http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;cost of living&lt;/a&gt; in Northwest Minnesota is only 80 percent of the state average, making wages more valuable in the region. The average production worker earning the median wage in Northwest Minnesota, for example, can earn $3.60 more an hour than is required to cover basic expenses, while the average production worker in the state as whole earns just enough to cover basic expenses for a typical family. For a full-time, year round employee in Northwest Minnesota, that can add up to an additional $7,500 per year for retirement savings, a college fund, or a new ice-fishing house.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;So what&apos;s the catch? Aside from the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/crookston/minnesota/united-states/usmn0175&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;colder than average temperatures&lt;/a&gt; - not much. Two thirds of production vacancies surveyed in 2014 required no experience, and nearly 60 percent offered health insurance, making manufacturing job prospects in the Northwest region look cozy. And, if the weather is still a concern, don&apos;t worry - the extra buying power provides more than enough for a really warm winter coat.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Next month, we&apos;ll look more closely at management and engineering occupations in the Northwest manufacturing industry. How can the region keep mid-level professionals engaged? Hint: a travel ban to North Dakota is not an option.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/picture-nw-blog_tcm1045-133219.png&quot; title=&quot;Woman pointing at mechanical man&quot; alt=&quot;Woman pointing at mechanical man&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;picture-nw-blog&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304240</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:21Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Region&apos;s Economy is Recovering Quickly</Title><title>2015-03-13 Economy ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304239&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-03-13T15:25:07Z</Date><ShortDescription>See what jobs are hot in the Northwest region.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;A recent report from the National Association of Counties shows that seven of the nine Minnesota counties that have fully recovered from the recession are in Northwest Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Two of the four indicators the report uses to measure economic recovery in each county, the unemployment rate and the number of jobs, show Northwest Minnesota is doing as well as or better than it was prior to the recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Even though this region spans 26 counties and is the largest planning area in the state, it has a surprisingly balanced job market comparatively.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;This demonstrates that employers in Northwest Minnesota need workers. Job seekers can use our &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/oid/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Occupations in Demand tool&lt;/a&gt; to get an idea of what nearby employers are looking for. There are nearly 300 occupations in relatively high demand in Northwest Minnesota, more than a third of which require education beyond a high school diploma. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/chart-1-educational-requirements-of-occupations-in-demand-nw-mn_tcm1045-222043.png&quot; title=&quot;Educational requirements of occupations in demand, nw mn&quot; alt=&quot;Educational requirements of occupations in demand, nw mn&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;chart-1-educational-requirements-of-occupations&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Eleven jobs rank in the top 25 in Northwest Minnesota. Considering projected growth in the older population in the region, it is not surprising that the most demand is in the healthcare field; with nursing assistants, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=211093&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;social and human service assistants&lt;/a&gt; all on the list.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The region also has strong demand for front-line jobs like &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=412011&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;cashiers&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=353021&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;food preparation and serving workers&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=434051&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;customer service representatives&lt;/a&gt;, as well as office positions such as &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=439061&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;office clerks&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=435081&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;stock clerks and order fillers&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/projections/detail.asp?code=433031&amp;amp;geog=2709NW0000&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/table-1-oid-northwest-mn_tcm1045-133220.png&quot; title=&quot;Top 11 occupations in demand across nw mn&quot; alt=&quot;Top 11 occupations in demand across nw mn&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;table-1-oid-northwest-mn&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:%20chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304239</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:21Z</pubdate></list><list><metadata><Type><Description/><Title>local-look-northwest</Title><Id>250951</Id><Key/></Type><DublinCore><Description/><Audience/><Title/><Publisher/><Source/><Rights/><Identifier/><Format/><Language>eng</Language><SubjectControlled/></DublinCore></metadata><Title>Young Leaders in NW Minn Tout Its Beauty and Sustainability</Title><title>2015-01-13 Young ARTICLE</title><url>&lt;custom:Link urlOnly=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;Component&quot; destination=&quot;tcm:1045-304253&quot; templateURI=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot; origin=&quot;tcm:0-0-0&quot;  /&gt;</url><Date>2015-01-13T16:30:38Z</Date><ShortDescription>Moving to the Northwest.</ShortDescription><Subtitle/><publication>1045</publication><BodyText>&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Two years ago, I couldn&apos;t tell you much about northwestern Minnesota. The Brainerd Lakes area was the farthest I&apos;d traveled, and people are quick to remind you it&apos;s only halfway up the state. I&apos;d heard mention of the Red River Valley, the Red Lake Nation and We Fest in Detroit Lakes, but not much else. My imagination filled the gaps with flyover shots of endless pines and firs, lakes and villages. The last thing I expected was a bustling, diverse economic landscape driven by robust industry and numerous colleges.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;What I did know was my friend and colleague Kelly Asche had been working at the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www4.morris.umn.edu/center-small-towns&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Center for Small Towns&lt;/a&gt; in Morris for a couple years, and I was intrigued by the draw to rural communities. Raised in Red Wing, I left my hometown for a post-secondary education and new experiences. After 15 years of life in the metro and two post-secondary degrees, how would rural Minnesota appear to me? The gravel roads and open fields carry lots of sentimental value, but would I recognize a socioeconomic value that wasn&apos;t as apparent growing up?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;After a year living in Nisswa and traveling throughout northwestern Minnesota as a representative of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the answer is an overwhelming yes. Having bought into the myth that there&apos;s only one side of the urban-rural divide for young, educated persons to be on, a part of me feels robbed that I didn&apos;t get here sooner. The summers are spectacular, the music is abundant and the people are passionate yet relatively carefree - and after living through the polar vortex of 2014, no amount of winter terror worries me anymore. So why don&apos;t more people choose to live here?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;That&apos;s one of the questions being asked by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.minnesotarising.org/p/blog-page_24.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Greater Minnesota Rising&lt;/a&gt; (GMR), a research project funded by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ifound.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Initiative Foundation&lt;/a&gt; in Little Falls and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.wcif.org&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;West Central Initiative&lt;/a&gt; in Fergus Falls: to seek out why people move here, why they don&apos;t, and what strategies might facilitate migration as the state and nation faces its most challenging labor shortage since World War II. An initiative of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.minnesotarising.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Rising&lt;/a&gt;, a network of emerging leaders across the state focused on the future of Minnesota, the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.minnesotarising.org/p/blog-page_24.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Greater Minnesota Rising project&lt;/a&gt; was developed on the heels of Ben Winchester&apos;s landmark &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.extension.umn.edu/community/brain-gain/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&quot;Brain Gain&quot; migration research&lt;/a&gt;. His findings showed most of rural Minnesota actually experienced an influx of people and talent ages 30-49 from 1990-2000 and 2000-2010. Winchester goes on to exclaim &quot;Imagine if we actually helped people move here!&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Northwest Minnesota may be the state&apos;s best kept secret, but the times they are a-changin&apos;. The 26-county region will need to fill almost 60,000 replacement openings by 2022 to maintain current employment levels, without which local industry will struggle to produce as much and compete on the world stage (Figure 1).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/deed/assets/011316-nw-figure1_tcm1045-222029.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Greater MN employment projections: 2012 - 2022&quot; alt=&quot;Greater MN employment projections: 2012 - 2022&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%;&quot; xmlns:xlink=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink&quot; xlink:title=&quot;011316-nw-figure1&quot; /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Greater Minnesota Rising is on a mission to figure out how professional networks and emerging leaders in the northwest can be activated in response to the challenge. In April, GMR&apos;s research capacity was increased significantly with the support of the &lt;a href=&quot;https://extension.umn.edu/regional-partnerships/mary-j-page-community-university-partnerships-fund&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Mary Page Community-University Partnership Fund&lt;/a&gt;, a fundraising effort to memorialize Mary Page, a trailblazing leader for RSDP and Greater Minnesota. With their support, GMR hired Brooke McManigal, a CURA student researcher, via the Community Assistantship Program. Brooke joined &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.minnesotarising.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Minnesota Rising&lt;/a&gt; volunteers and GMR Research Lead &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.linkedin.com/in/milavetz&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;David Milavetz&lt;/a&gt; from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.rtbeval.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Raising The Bar LLC&lt;/a&gt; on the project.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;In three phases over the summer, Greater Minnesota Rising talked with emerging leader groups, junior chambers, and other community organizations to explore three basic questions:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What is working to attract and retain young professionals and what can be improved?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How might we connect other young professionals to Northwestern Minnesota? To existing groups? To the regional workforce?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How do young professionals envision their lives in 30 years? How do young professionals picture the region in 30 years? What next steps can help bring the best of what they imagine to life in Northwestern Minnesota?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;The aim was to develop recommendations for ways individuals, organizations, and regional groups can be intentional resources in this critical workforce development issue. Unlike corporate recruitment or other strategies based solely on work opportunities, GMR engages rural emerging leaders in an effort to reach their counterparts elsewhere, millennial to millennial. The passion and energy of these networks is so attractive and contagious it needs to be shared. With their extensive regional knowledge and experience, GMR hopes that passion can be channeled to illuminate those imaginative black holes that city folk conjure up when thinking about northwestern Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;What&apos;s it like to work in health care in northwest Minnesota? I don&apos;t know, but there are a lot of people that do - with more than 36,000 jobs, it&apos;s the largest employing industry here with wages that often exceed the state average. GMR aims to find ways to share knowledge like this with those who have even a slight inclination (a dream, if you will) of living in vacation-land year-round. The future of the state&apos;s economy will be driven by the job seeker - here&apos;s to empowering each and every one to finding a sustainable place to work and live. Don&apos;t be fooled - there&apos;s far more than one - or twin - option(s).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;For More Information&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot;&gt;Contact &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:chet.bodin@state.mn.us&quot;&gt;Chet Bodin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;</BodyText><Author>Chet Bodin</Author><id>304253</id><pubdate>2023-11-02T14:52:21Z</pubdate></list></results>