Minnesota jobs lost since the recession: 158,000

Minnesota jobs gained during the recovery: 26,600

Source: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

Any job growth is good, but each monthly report is a sobering reminder that Minnesota still faces a long road back to anything resembling full employment.

The construction sector remains in shambles, with about 50,000 fewer people working in that sector than at the housing bubble peak. Will those jobs ever come back?

After housing, the sector with the biggest decline has been government, with 1,900 jobs lost in the past year. I expect even more job losses in that sector in the coming months.