Minnesota employers added 6,100 jobs in August, according to data released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The August gains, combined with July figures that were revised from 4,200 jobs lost to 100 jobs lost, put calendar year gains at 13,200 jobs in the state. Over the past 12 months, the state has added 56,311 jobs, a 2 percent growth rate compared with a U.S. growth rate of 1.8 percent.
Most of those gains were in the fall of 2013.
"Our state has added nearly 203,000 jobs since hitting the low point of the recession in September 2009," said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben, in a statement. "The August employment figures are great news and a reflection of Minnesota's healthy and growing economy."
Unemployment rate falls to 4.3 percent
The state unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent in August, the lowest unemployment rate in the state since November 2006. The U.S. unemployment rate in August was 6.1 percent.
Again, the drop in unemployment was driven by another reduction in labor force participation – the share of working-age people who are either working or looking for work.
This is a national phenomenon, state labor market economist Steve Hine said. But Minnesota's labor force participation rate, at 69.8 percent, is still among the highest in the nation, along with Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota.
Hine said the reduction in labor force participation is being driven primarily by demographic forces -- people retiring.
