State: 11K jobs gained in March, down from February’s gain of 13K

Krystal Frasier KSTP

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) says 11,500 jobs were gained last month in the state.

State officials say the majority of those jobs (11,000) were in the private sector.

Despite the gain, the state reports the number is lower than February’s job gain of 13,000.

In addition, DEED officials reported the average hourly wage increase was 4.9% for all private-sector workers.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, inflation jumped 8.5% in March from a year before, according to the U.S. Labor Department, which said it was the largest year-over-year increase since 1981. From February to March alone, inflation rose 1.2%, the largest month-to-month jump since 2005.

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In addition, DEED officials say as of March 2022, the state has gained 315,900 jobs since losing 417,600 jobs from February to April of 2020. Of those, DEED reports the private sector gained 80%, or 310,900 jobs, back.

According to the state, March was the sixth straight month there was job growth in Minnesota, with the unemployment rate down to 2.5%. In February, the rate was 2.7%.