Despite the length of our recovery and the jobs that we have regained, the severity of the recession and the often feeble nature of employment growth still leave Minnesota shy of a complete recovery, the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) reported.
While employment statewide and in many sectors continues to reach new highs, other sectors are still far short of where they were before the recession, DEED reported.
The unemployment rate has fallen to mid-2007 levels and continues to fall, but job opportunities are proving elusive for people of color, young adults with little or no experience, and those who have been without work for six months or longer.
And while the top-level indicators show indisputable improvement, much evidence suggests that these improvements are affecting a small segment of our population while leaving many groups behind.
Minnesota's unemployment rate, which had been trending downward faster than the national rate since the end of the recession, has been stuck at 4.7 or 4.8 percent for the last six months. This is actually a good sign because it is being driven by expanding labor force participation, DEED reported.
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The labor participation rate has been sliding since the recession, but it started to climb over the last few months, boosting Minnesota's labor force to more than 3 million workers for the first time.
Minnesota's labor market has rebounded to the point where workers who dropped out of the labor force over the last five years are now beginning to return. A recent uptick in household employment is another encouraging development. Household employment, which includes self-employment, has been increasing at its fastest pace since 2011.
