Minnesota gained 9,500 jobs last month, the fifth straight month of growth and the largest increase since January, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reported Thursday

The job growth data was well the national rate, according to DEED — up 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with 0.1% for the nation as whole.

Minnesota’s unemployment rate ticked down one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.1% in November, compared with 3.7% nationally. Over the last three months, jobs in Minnesota grew by 17,300, or 0.6% — far higher the 0.2% national rate for that timeframe DEED reported.

“Minnesota continues to see sustained and notable job growth and we’re consistently adding jobs at a faster rate than the national average, which is phenomenal news for workers,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek in a news release. “We are confident that current and soon-to-be-launched efforts by DEED and our workforce development partners to connect people with employment and to help connect employers with often overlooked labor pools will bring more people into the labor force in 2024.”

Minnesota’s labor force decreased by 7,433 people over the month, bumping the labor force participation rate down two-tenths of a percentage point to 68.3%, compared to 62.8% nationally. This rate measured the total number of people working or actively seeking work, compared with the whole adult population. It is used to calculate the headline unemployment rate.

Over the month, eight of 11 supersectors gained jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in Minnesota.

Top job gaining sectors were Trade, Transportation & Utilities, up 3,300 jobs; Education & Health Services, up 2,700 jobs; Government, up 1,100 jobs and
Manufacturing, up 1,000 jobs.

Minnesota’s average hourly wage was $36.29 in November and over the year, average hourly earnings increased 3.4%, and 13.2% over three years, DEED said.

Among various ethnicities, Black Minnesotans’ unemployment rate was 3% in November, down 1.3 points from a year ago; Hispanic 6.1%, up 2.2 points; white Minnesotans 3% in November, up 0.9 points over the year and Asian Minnesotans’ unemployment rate was 1.8% in November, down 2 points over the year.

As for alternative measures of unemployment, the broadest, known as U-6, was 5.4% in November, down from 5.5% in October. The U-6 factors in people who have dropped out of the labor force, not seeking work, and those marginally employed or underemployed.

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