Friday, March 23, 2007

State's jobless numbers increase


By Dawn Peake, dmpeake@stcloudtimes.com


Minnesota employment remained almost stagnant in February while unemployment continued to climb, according to government data released Tuesday.
Minnesota posted a net loss of 1,200 jobs in February from a month ago with gains in about half the sectors and losses in half, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Employment grew less than 0.8 percent from a year ago as jobs in most sectors increased far less than a percentage point.
Unemployment rose to 4.5 percent in February, up from 4.4 percent in January. That puts the state on par with the national rate.
The state saw the largest decline in natural resources and mining jobs, with a 12.6 percent decrease from a year ago.
Nationally, jobs in natural resources and mining increased 7.6 percent — performing better than all other sectors.
Education and health services provided the most growth as it added about 12,540 jobs, 3.1 percent more than a year ago.
Jobs in education and health-related fields accounted for 60.3 percent of all jobs added during the past 12 months.
St. Cloud employment data will be available next week.
In January, the area's job growth surpassed economists' expectations by rising 2.4 percent from a year ago. Unemployment climbed to 5.9 percent, exceeding the state and national rates.

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