ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - State officials said Thursday that Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 8.6% in June after hitting a record high of 9.9% in May during the coronavirus pandemic.
The June figures reflect the reopening of indoor service at restaurants and bars after Minnesota’s stay-at-home order ended.
Minnesota added 84,700 payroll jobs in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 3.2%, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The private sector added 84,400 jobs during the month, up 3.8%. Government added 300 jobs.
DEED Commissioner Steve Grove said many Minnesotans who were laid off are starting to come back to work. But Grove said Minnesota’s unemployment rate remains more than double what it was before the pandemic.
Leisure and hospitality led the seasonally adjusted gains in June, up 35,300 jobs. But construction, information, and real estate, rental and leasing saw job losses.
The number of people unemployed in Minnesota dropped by 35,440 to 267,526 in June while the number employed rose 81,822 to 2,848,800. That puts Minnesota above where employment stood in April, at 2,799,493.
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 11.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in June, down from 13.3% in May.
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