Minnesota construction industry sheds 3,500 jobs in December ...

Crews continued work Monday at the Interchange, a $79 million transit hub being built north of Target Field in Minneapolis. (FILE PHOTO: BILL KLOTZ)

Minnesota continued to see strong employment growth in December,?but?the construction industry hit a bump, shedding?3,500 positions.

Even as construction lost jobs last month, it remained one of the fastest growing sectors year-over-year. Construction employment is up 3,300 jobs, or 3.9 percent, over the past 12 months. The only sector performing better is education and health services, up 22,700 jobs, or 4.8 percent.

The state as a whole gained 9,100 jobs in December, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

November also turned out to be a better month than previously reported in Minnesota: Jobs were up 12,300, versus 10,800.

The state?s?December?unemployment rate ticked down a tenth of a percentage point to 5.5 percent; the U.S. unemployment rate was 7.8 percent. Minnesota jobs are up by 50,700 jobs over the past year ? a 1.9 percent growth rate that exceeds the 1.4 percent national?rate.

?Minnesota is recovering jobs well ahead of the rest of the country and is positioned to stay on that course in coming months,? DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben said in a news release.

Trade, transportation and utilities led all industrial sectors in December, up 3,900 jobs. Other gains occurred in professional and business services, up 2,500;?education and health services, up 1,800;?manufacturing, up 1,400;information, up 1,400;?government, up 900;?leisure and hospitality, up 800,?and financial activities, up 600.?Logging and mining lost 20 jobs.

The only sectors to lose jobs last month were construction, down 3,500, andother services, down 700.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2013 at 10:15 am and is filed under Business & Economy, Construction & Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://finance-commerce.com/2013/01/minnesota-construction-industry-sheds-3500-jobs-in-december/

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