ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) released its May jobs report on Thursday, which appeared to show a plateau for Rochester jobs.
According to DEED, the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted and Wabasha counties, lost 116 jobs over the year (OTY). That constitutes a 0.1% decrease in total employment. It also continues a trend of decreasing OTY job changes since March.
“I would caution against drawing strong conclusions based on two months,” DEED Labor Market Information Director Angelina Nguyen said. “We will continue to track this, but it seems like things are plateauing in Rochester. So, the job growth is flattening out, but that said, it is not taking away from the growth that Rochester had experienced in recent years.”
Most of MSA’s industries saw job losses, with big hits coming in the Leisure and Hospitality sector, Manufacturing sector, and Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector. However, certain industries helped offset larger cuts:
| Industry | OTY Job Changes |
|---|---|
| Mining, Logging, and Construction | +303 |
| Education and Health Services | +461 |
| Government | +74 |
Statewide, Minnesota gained 5,400 non-farm jobs over the month (OTM). The largest of those gains came in the Leisure and Hospitality sector.
“It’s a good sign that the jobs market is stabilizing or at least not continuing to lose jobs and is starting to regain some of the jobs lost,” Nguyen said.
Unemployment ticked down ever so slightly, from 4.5% to 4.4%. The reason for that, Nguyen said, can be varied.
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“Not having the uncertainty of ICE activities is helpful for the job market, but there are also other bigger factors that are at play like our aging population, tariffs, wars, other federal policies, immigration policies,” Nguyen said.
In terms of pay, Minnesota workers are seeing a small pay drop this month. New numbers show average hourly wages for private sector jobs slipped by four cents in May, down to $38.87. Nationwide, hourly pay also dipped but by three cents.
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