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MinnEcon Blog

Looking for a job? Better off without college?

If your goal right now is a job in Minnesota, you are better off without a college degree. That’s my conclusion after coming across this nugget from the state labor department’s most recent job vacancy survey: 44 percent of vacancies required some level of post-secondary education or training beyond a high school diploma. This means…
by Paul Tosto

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Americans and spending: a view from the antiques business

We talked recently about signs the region’s antiques business might be improving and asked if that signaled anything about the economy’s health. Local dealers were looking for clues from two big August antiques shows, including Gold Rush Days in Oronoco. Now, one of our Public Insight Network sources, Duluth antiques dealer Richard Lee, tells us…
by Paul Tosto

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Dwindling jobs + high unemployment = worst job market in 9 years

A post from my colleague Mike Caputo: We told you last week about the .3 percent decrease in Minnesota’s unemployment numbers. That’s the good news. But check this out: The number of job vacancies decreased by 40 percent from the second quarter of 2008 to 2009. That means there were 7.7 unemployed people for each…
by Paul Tosto

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Jumping state lines can hurt your jobless benefit

A post from my colleague Mike Caputo: States set their own unemployment benefit rate, and Minnesota’s has been among the most generous. The maximum weekly benefit you can get in the Gopher State is $566. That’s fifth in the nation, behind Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Notice that the list doesn’t include any…
by Paul Tosto

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What is Minnesota getting in stimulus money? (A live-blogged hearing)

From my colleague Mike Caputo Much remains unknown about the performance of the so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly referred to as the federal stimulus effort. So when Rep. Betty McCollum held a hearing on stimulus money in Minnesota at the State Capitol, we thought it made sense to drop in. We live-blogged the…
by Paul Tosto

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Older job-searchers seek work, human connection

Public Insight Editor Andrew Haeg has a new post that explores unemployment for older workers. Unemployment has afflicted younger workers more than any other cohort. If you leave out the under-20 set (who are often only fitfully employed) it’s 20-somethings who are the most likely to be out of work. The unemployment rate is a…
by Paul Tosto

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Canoeing and haggling: An early look at the summer 2009 tourism economy

Public Insight Editor Andrew Haeg files a post on the trip that has been this summer vacation season. Just like everyone, we here at MinnEcon are loathe to admit that the summer’s coming to a close. But, when State Fair chatter ramps up you can no longer deny it. So we thought it a good…
by Paul Tosto

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Productivity is up, but what’s the cost?

From my colleague Mike Caputo: Numbers this month show that the U.S. economy is more productive. But what’s the toll of that productivity? Stephanie Massey of Mound has some idea. Her husband, who works for a large financial institution, came back from vacation earlier this year to find about half of the employees in his…
by Paul Tosto

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The crossroads of pay for health care professionals

Here’s a post from my colleague Mike Caputo: How could the direction of health care reform affect the pay and satisfaction of physicians and other clinicians, like nurse practitioners, in Minnesota? Well, if the current proposal stands, and little change is done for compensation, then a glimpse might come from Mary, who is part of…
by Paul Tosto

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Interference: Favre upstages manufacturing industry event

Public Insight Editor Andrew Haeg posts on a story missed as the media focused on Favre. Minnesota was visited by two ineluctable forces on Wednesday: tornadoes and Favre fever. The tornadoes missed the North Oaks Golf Club in St. Paul, but an F0 Favre funnel descended on a little-heralded event, where 170 representatives from the…
by Paul Tosto

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