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While the nation's job market struggles to shake off the long-running recession, Minnesota is moving toward recovery much more quickly.

Since the state's unemployment rate peaked at 8.4 percent in June 2009, it has fallen steadily to its most recent reading of 6.8 percent for July. Meanwhile, the national rate in July was exactly the same as in June 2009 -- 9.5 percent -- and the Labor Department reported Friday that it ticked up to 9.6 percent in August.

The result is that recent months have shown the biggest gap between the state and national unemployment rates in at least 30 years, providing some much-needed relief to weary local job seekers.

Allen Gorell, 51, planned to put a shortened version of his résumé on a stick and walk the Minnesota State Fair last week with a group of other jobless people. But after a nine-month job search, Gorell was able to get a job as a senior energy adviser at Franklin Energy Services' Bloomington office.

"I am really excited to get back into the workforce," said Gorell, who appeared at the fair Tuesday in solidarity with unemployed friends.

Experts say the state is benefitting from a diverse economy, with a mix of growing industries such as education and health care complemented by a strong year for agriculture. Real estate, which has dragged down Sun Belt states such as California and Florida, is a smaller part of Minnesota's economy.

"Minnesota is actually one of the more diverse economies of all the states," said David Vang, chairman of the Finance Department at the University of St. Thomas' Opus College of Business. "States that aren't diversified, they run through hot and cold time frames."

Of course, the economy remains far from boom times. There were still more than 200,000 unemployed in the state in July, down almost 50,000 from the previous summer but well above pre-recession levels. And some who have given up looking for work aren't counted in the numbers.

But there is progress. In addition to the drop in the unemployment rate, the state released a survey last week that showed job openings up 32 percent from a year earlier, with employers looking for more than 40,000 people.

In part, improvement in Minnesota's unemployment rate is a return to the normal pattern. A brief period of 2007 was the only time since at least the late 1970s that the state's unemployment rate has exceeded the nation's.

But it also reflects growth in several large sectors of the state's economy. For example, the state has added more than 12,000 jobs in private-sector health care and education since June 2009.

Leisure and hospitality jobs were up 5.1 percent in that period, adding 15,000 positions, while the industry contracted slightly nationwide. Professional and business services jobs were up 2.8 percent in Minnesota, adding 11,000 positions, while growing 1.3 percent across the country.

A steadying force

Wells Fargo senior economist Scott Anderson said Minnesota also benefits from a strong agricultural base, which can help balance the economy through tough times.

The state's lowest unemployment rates can be found in a cluster of rural counties in the southwestern part of the state, known for crops such as corn and soybeans, livestock production in hogs and beef cattle, as well as renewable energy in wind power, ethanol production and biodiesel.

"They tend not to have a lot of migration," Anderson said. "You don't live there unless you have a job and have a way of making a living."

While unemployment is as low as 4.3 percent in rural counties, the pattern in the Twin Cities is similar to the state's. Unemployment in Hennepin County has dropped from 8.4 percent to 6.7 percent since June 2009, while in Ramsey County it's down from 8.7 percent to 7.2 percent.

Rebound in tourism

One company that is adding people is Willmar-based Torgerson Properties, which operates 27 hotels and nine restaurants in Minnesota and hired 34 people in newly created jobs in July to keep up with increased occupancy.

That reflects improved conditions in the hospitality industry, with nearly 70 percent of Minnesota lodgings reporting summer business up or unchanged from a year ago in a survey by Explore Minnesota Tourism.

Torgerson has also been opening new hotels in the area. The company hired a total of 80 employees for new Homewood Suites locations in New Brighton and St. Louis Park that both opened in January, said Lisa Giaimo, vice president of sales and marketing.

"I don't think the job growth at each individual location has really been significant, [but] when you add that across this whole industry it becomes significant," Giaimo said.

Growth in health care

Another company that is adding workers is UnitedHealth Group in Minnetonka.

From January to the end of August this year, UnitedHealth hired a little over 2,800 employees in Minnesota alone, up 30 percent over last year, said Tom Valerius, senior vice president of recruitment services. Most of the jobs are in information technology, finance, sales and marketing.

"The health care industry is growing and as a result we need a number of different types of professionals to support our business growth," Valerius said.

But competition for the jobs is high. On average there are about 60 applicants per job, Valerius said, double the level of competition before the recession.

Earlier recovery

Some analysts point to other factors, beyond industry mix, that make Minnesota's job picture look better than the nation's.

Minnesota Labor Market Information Director Steve Hine said Minnesota entered the recession six to nine months before most of the nation, reached the lowest point of the downturn much earlier and, as a result, exited quicker.

He also pointed out that a handful of big, beleaguered states are weighing down the national unemployment rate. Indeed, the unemployment rates in 32 states are lower than the nation's, while a few are much higher -- such as Michigan, at 13.1 percent, or California, at 12.3 percent.

"So while we and a number of other states are seeing strong signs of improvement ... there are other states that are holding the nation behind" and keeping that national rate closer to 10 percent, Hine said.

On the other hand, Wells Fargo's Anderson said Minnesota's unemployment rate may also look artificially strong because many frustrated job seekers have given up looking and thus aren't counted in the statistics.

A long job hunt

Joseph Christensen, 40, says it's almost unbearable waiting for work. After an internship ended in June, Christensen applied for 50 industrial, managerial and warehouse jobs, but was unsuccessful.

Then the father of nine children took matters into his own hands and invested about $2,000 into his own electrical construction and maintenance business, New World Electric, which he started in March at his Minneapolis home. It's not profitable yet.

"I'm positive when somebody gives me the opportunity to work, my work will speak for itself," he said. "It's been rough."

Anderson said he expects the state's unemployment rate to continue to gradually improve, although it would need to get below 5 percent to consider Minnesota a "fully employed" economy.

Vang, at the University of St. Thomas, said a full recovery might take a while for the state.

"We will probably experience the recovery as slowly as the rest of the nation," he said. "But we're starting from a better point."

ddepass@startribune.com • 612-673-7725 wendy.lee@startribune.com • 612-673-1712