Minnesota added 5,900 jobs in September, second in 2012 only to the 15,800 added in an unusually strong January. But how does September stack up historically? Well, pretty well. The average monthly gain since 1990 is 2,192 jobs (that average includes months where jobs were lost). Aside from the spikes in the summer of 2011 (driven by a government shutdown) and the boom years of 2004 and 2005, it's difficult to find dramatic swings in the numbers.
And here's a chart that zooms in on the past six years. Again, the reason for the spikes in the summer of 2011 is the government shutdown.
