Minnesota’s declining employment stands out

Despite the rosy reports of new jobs carried by Minnesota’s media, when we look at the number of people actually employed in our state, that number has fallen by 27,700 since June.

When I have made this point before I have been told that it always happens at this time of year. Is that true?

No.

Figure 1 shows the change in the number of people employed in Minnesota from June to October in each year of the 21st century. Not only do we see that in 15 out of 23 years the number of people employed in our state actually rose in these months, we also see that the decline in 2022 is the steepest this century.

Figure 1: Change in number of people employed, June to October

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Another objection has been that this is happening everywhere. Is that true?

Again, no.

Figure 2 shows the change in the number of people employed in each state and the District of Columbia from June to October 2022. Not only do we see that Minnesota is among the 30 jurisdictions which have seen employment decline over this period, but our decline is worse than in just four other states.

Figure 2: Change in number of people employed, June to October 2022

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

It might strike you as odd that people would raise objections which are so easily checked against and refuted by the data. Trust me, you get used to it. Lots of people want these arguments to be true and don’t worry too much whether they are or not.