This is the second month in a row that Minnesota has lost jobs

Minnesota lost jobs for the second month in a row, losing 49,800 payroll jobs, down 1.8%, in December on a seasonally adjusted basis following a loss of 15,500 jobs (revised) in November. Job losses in November and December erase job gains made from August through October. Minnesota lost 387,800 jobs from February through April and has since gained 140,300 jobs, or 36.2% of the jobs lost on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is down from October, when Minnesota had regained 205,600, or 52.5% of jobs lost during the pandemic, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Over the Year changes

According to the new Data,

Over the year in December, Minnesota shed 238,056 payroll jobs, down 8.0%, with private-sector jobs down 7.9% in December. U.S. over-the-year job loss stood at 6.0% with the private sector down 6.1% in December, unchanged from November.

All supersectors continued to show over-the-year job loss in Minnesota and nationally. In Minnesota, over-the-year job losses were still greatest in Leisure & Hospitality, down 43.7% or 116,429 jobs, and Information, down 15.9% or 7,301 jobs. Other supersectors with a high share of job losses were Other Services, down 13.5% or 15,499 jobs, Logging & Mining, down 11.4% or 694 jobs, and Government, down 8.4% or 36,152 jobs over the year.

Minnesota and U.S. Employment and Unemployment – December 2020

It is a reflection of the most recent shutdown

This is potentially mainly a reflection of the most recent  Covid-19 restrictions that were introduced in Mid-November and lasted all through December to be lifted effective January 11th of this year. In November, Governor Walz ordered a total shutdown of bars and restaurants with no outside dining. Additionally, other places and gyms were also shut down.

When we look at the data, there is a direct overlap between sectors that experienced job and those that were closed down.