Calling the jobless rate for minorities "disproportionately alarming," the Minnesota Department of Human Rights revised its minority hiring goals Wednesday to get more minority and female employees working on state-funded projects in the seven-county metropolitan area.
State construction projects in Hennepin and Ramsey counties will have a 32 percent minority target. The goal for Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Scott and Washington counties is 22 percent. The current minority goal is 11 percent throughout the seven-county area.
The goal for female employees is 6 percent, the same as the current goal but double the existing composition of the construction workforce in the region.
"These updated hiring goals will ensure that all Minnesotans have a chance to compete for job opportunities as our economy continues to regain strength," said Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey.
The current unemployment rate among black Minnesotans is 19.1 percent compared with a one-year rolling unemployment rate of 6.3 percent for all Minnesotans. The unemployment rate among Hispanic Minnesotans is 8.6 percent for that period and for women it is 5.9 percent, according to the Department of Employment and Economic Development's Labor Market Information Office.
DAVID PHELPS
