In January, the unemployment rate in Minnesota (4.4%) was higher than that of the United States (4.3%) for the first time since November 2007. Some of the local media reports…
Yesterday, I looked at why Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita growth in Minnesota has ranked 38th out of 50 states since 2014. Using the framework and data from our…
Yesterday, I noted that job growth in Minnesota was up from July to August but so was unemployment. How does that work? Jobs and unemployment up? As I’ve noted before,…
Some recent headlines read: MPR News: Minnesota adds nearly 6,000 jobs but unemployment increases Star Tribune: The U.S. labor market is slowing. Minnesota, for now, is bucking the trend Kare 11: MN workforce,…
Last Friday, I commented on data released by the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) which show, among other things, that “Total Nonfarm Employment” in Minnesota declined by 4,400…
Data released yesterday by the Department of Employment and Economic Development show that “Total Nonfarm Employment” in Minnesota declined by 4,400 from June to July. This is the largest decline…
On Tuesday, I wrote that: The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Establishment survey, which is part of its Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, shows an increase of 6,300 in the Total Nonfarm jobs from…
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released its employment numbers for August. Some of the local headlines include: Kare 11: Minnesota shares largest monthly job gain in two years…
A growing number of articles have detailed how soaring energy prices are crippling heavy industry in Germany and several other European countries. The nascent deindustrialization of Europe stems from decades of bad energy policies mandating…
Of Minnesota’s many supposed “labor shortages,” one of the most pressing is the shortage of nurses. A recent op-ed in the Star Tribune argues: The reality is that Minnesota has…
To know what is going on in Minnesota it is sometimes as useful to look at what our state’s media doesn’t say as at what it does say. Number of…
Last September, I wrote about a report from the Center For Rural Policy and Development, which found that: In 2020 and 2021, the decades-long trend of population loss in rural counties…
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve written about how Minnesota and its neighbors have very different economic policies but very similar employment outcomes and how they do have similarly…
Minnesota’s media is cock-a-hoop over the latest jobs numbers: WCCO: Minnesota reached record 3 million jobs in October Star Tribune: More than 3 million Minnesotans worked in October, the highest total ever…
A core argument of advocates for higher legal minimum wages is that the increase in the price of labor which they propose will not to lead to a fall in…
This week I’ve been writing about a recent report by labor market analytics firm Lightcast titled “Minnesota’s Vanishing Workforce.” It is worth reading and echoes our 2019 report, “Minnesota’s Workforce…
On Monday, writing about Minnesota’s supposed labor shortage, I noted that our state’s birthrate has held up relatively well. On Tuesday, I wrote about how data show that Minnesota’s employment has…
Yesterday, writing about Minnesota’s supposed labor shortage, I noted that our state’s birthrate has held up relatively well. But, as a recent report by labor market analytics firm Lightcast titled…
Last week, I wrote about how Minnesota is one of 13 states which still haven’t regained their pre-COVID-19 employment numbers. This is in the context of ongoing concerns about a…
In June, I wrote that robots are one way to ease Minnesota’s labor shortage. An example comes from across the border in Wisconsin. Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology…
Minnesota’s media will often celebrate data showing that the state has added a particular number of jobs over a given month. What they are less likely to report is that…
Minnesota’s media is always on the lookout for good news stories about the state, which might explain the coverage given to our ranking of 5th in CNBC’s annual “America’s Top…
Of Minnesota’s many supposed “labor shortages,” one of the most pressing is the shortage of nurses. WCCO reports that: …Minnesota’s workforce agencies are making a push to fill tens of…
Rochester Public Schools recently approved a bid of $562,548 for seven “advanced autonomous floor-scrubbing robots.” This, the Rochester Post Bulletin reports, “led to a discussion about the role of technology…