Another Month and Another Unemployment Record Set in Minnesota

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St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - Minnesota's unemployment rate dropped to a new record low last month.

The 1.8-percent seasonally adjusted jobless rate was the lowest reported since the state began tracking unemployment rates in 1976. June was also the fourth consecutive month the rate has reached a new record low at half of the national unemployment rate of 3.6-percent. A year ago, Minnesota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4-percent.

The statistics continue to show uneven gains among the state’s ethnic groups. The unemployment rate among Black Minnesotans was 7.4-percent, while Hispanic people living in the state had a jobless rate of 3.1-percent.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Security reported the unemployment rate decline last month "was entirely due to people moving from unemployment to employment." The agency says the labor force participation rate rose a tenth of a percentage point to 68.5-percent. Nationally, the labor force participation rate slipped two-tenths of a point to 59.9-percent.

Minnesota saw a net gain of only about 100 jobs last month, but state officials say the job gains for the month of May were revised upward to 7500. Over the past 12 months, the state has seen a net gain of more than 91,000 jobs.