Minnesota unemployment went down in June, but job growth slowed down

Employment numbers are out for the month of July. And the state of Minnesota saw its unemployment drop. As reported by the Minnesota Department of Economic Development ( DEED),

Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 7.7% in July down from 8.6% in June.

…Minnesota added 32,500 payroll jobs in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 1.2% over the month. The U.S. added 1.8 million jobs in July, up 1.3%. The U.S. unemployment rate is at 10.2% for July, down from 11.1% in June.

As expected, job gains were led by industries most heavily affected by shutdowns.

Seasonally adjusted job gains in July were led by Leisure and Hospitality, up 17,200 (9.8%), with Accommodation and Food Service gaining 12,300 of the jobs (up 8.1%) and Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation gaining 4,900 jobs (up 20.4%), followed by Government with a gain of 6,200 (up 1.6%) mostly in Local Government and Education and Health Service, with a gain of 4,400 (up 0.9%), with Health Care and Social Assistance gaining 3,700 of those jobs (up 0.8%).

Some sectors however lost jobs,

Four supersectors lost jobs in July: Professional and Business Services lost 900 jobs, down 0.2%, Information also lost 900 jobs, down 2.2%, Construction lost 400 jobs, down 0.3% and Mining and Logging lost 100 jobs, down 1.9%.

But Minnesota fared better compared to the country average on most accounts,

Two supersectors showed strength in Minnesota compared to the nation in July. Trade, Transportation and Utilities was down 3% in Minnesota compared to 5.7% nationwide over the year. Once again, strength in this supersector was in retail trade with Minnesota down 0.6% compared to 5.5% nationwide, over the year. Professional and Business Services was down 4.7% in Minnesota compared to 6.7% nationwide, over the year. Minnesota’s strength in this supersector was in Administrative and Support and Waste Services, down 3.1% in Minnesota compared to 11.2% nationwide. Of special note is employment services (temp help), which was down 10% in Minnesota compared to 17.2% nationwide, over the year.

In Minnesota, the number of people unemployed dropped by 31,146 to 236,832 in July, while the number employed rose 9,579 to 2,855,710. The employment to population ration increased slightly over the month to 64% in July, compared to 55.1% nationally.

Most indoor businesses are still operating under restrictions

While shutdown restrictions have been loosened,  most small businesses, like restaurants and bars are still operating with restrictions like limited capacity. This may be partly contributing to the slowdown in the growth of job gains.