Minnesota added new jobs and increased its workforce last month, according to the state’s latest economic report.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) says the state’s labor force grew by 8,700 workers in May and employers also added 7,700 new jobs.

The labor force increase is the state’s largest over-the-month labor force gain since June 2020, DEED officials say. Combined with the increases from the past couple of months, DEED reports the three-month worker gain of 13,019 is the largest since January to March 2022.

That being said, the state’s labor force still remains more than 32,000 workers smaller than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A growing labor force is the latest sign of strength for Minnesota’s economy,” temporary DEED Commissioner Kevin McKinnon said. “Employers constantly tell us that they need more workers to fill their open roles. Now, we’ve seen back-to-back months during which more workers are pursuing jobs around the state. This is great news for Minnesota workers and employers, and we will work hard to make sure this trend continues.”

Overall, Minnesota’s labor force participation rate rose 0.1% to 68.2% last month, and with more people in the workforce, the state’s unemployment rate increased 0.1% to 2.9%.

KSTP Chief Political Reporter Tom Hauser will have more details on this story during this evening’s newscasts.

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