Minnesota Employers Cut Jobs in November

Published 11:47 am Thursday, December 15, 2011

Minnesota employers cut 13,700 jobs in November, putting a glaring spotlight on the weakness of the state’s job market.

After good job growth at the beginning of the year, the pace has fizzled.

The number of job losses in October was revised to reflect an additional 1,200 jobs lost during that month. Over the last three months, the state has lost 22,900 jobs even as the unemployment rate fell from 7.2 percent to 5.9 percent during that period.

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Several factors could account for the conflicting results, state officials say, including sampling errors in the separate surveys. The unemployment rate is derived from a household survey while the jobs number is derived from a payroll survey from employers. A declining labor participation force could also account for the disparity.

Even given those factors, state labor market officials were at a loss to explain. “The mixed results make it difficult to draw clear conclusions about how well the labor market is doing,” Mark Phillips, the commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development, said in a prepared release.

But considering the pace of job growth, the state is conclusively lagging.

The nation is outpacing Minnesota in terms of jobs. In November, the state’s job growth was 0.3 percent compared to November 2010. The nation’s job base grew 1.2 percent.