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Bill Catlin
St. Paul, Minn.

Minn. unemployment drops to 4.7% in April

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Minnesota's unemployment rate ticked down to 4.7 percent in April even as state employers trimmed 4,200 jobs from payrolls, according to statistics the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development released Thursday.

The professional and business services industry lost 2,200 jobs, as did the construction sector, which had been adding jobs at a healthy pace.

The unemployment rate fell as a survey of households indicated more people were paid to work in the month of April. Manufacturers added 2,400 jobs in April, hitting a post-recession employment high of 315,000 jobs.

The state's employment growth in March was revised down from 2,600 jobs gained to an increase of just 700 jobs.

Payroll employment in Minnesota has increased 1.5 percent over the past year, slightly behind the U.S. growth rate of 1.7 percent during that period.

"While hiring slowed in April, the overall trend remains positive, with all but one of the state's industrial sectors adding jobs over the past year," said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben.

The other sectors adding jobs last month include government (+1,500) and information (+200). Trade, transportation and utilities held steady.

These industries lost jobs: construction (-2,200), professional and business services (-2,200), leisure and hospitality (-1,700), financial activities (-800), education and health services (-700), other services (-600), and logging and mining (-100).