Minnesota unemployment steady in first figures for 2015

Updated: 6:20 p.m. | Posted: 11:35 a.m.

Minnesota's unemployment rate is holding steady at at a seasonally adjusted 3.7 percent — two full percentage points below the U.S. rate, and far below the peak of 8.3 percent in 2009 during the recession.

Employers in the state added more than 36,000 jobs in the last year, according to the Department of Employment and Economic Development. But that was far fewer than first thought. State economists just completed a routine revision that scrubs sampling error from the job tally.

"Those annual revisions took a lot of the luster off the last six months of 2014," said Steve Hine, chief labor market economist for the state.

"It looked like we were having a very strong stretch there, with initial estimates of 26,100 additional jobs between July and December," Hine said. "The revised data show that we in fact only gained 2,200 jobs over that time period."

Hine says that downward revision is partly because census data now show the labor force is growing more slowly than initially estimated. That's because of a big wave of Baby Boomer retirements.

Hine says if workforce growth is anemic, job growth will be too because employers won't hire if there's no one to fill a job.

Online want ads are another encouraging measure of employment.

The Help Wanted Online Index from the Conference Board shows Minnesota is one of the few states where the number of job postings exceeds the number of unemployed people — and the apparent worker shortage is even more acute in the Twin Cities.

Conference Board researcher George Werking says Minnesota's job market is far stronger than it was even before the recession.

"Back in 2007 there were 90,000 ads in Minnesota, and now they're up to 138,000 ads," Werking said. "Minneapolis is up 40 percent, which is also very good when you look at the U.S., where it's only up 25 percent over its pre-recession high."

Werking said the jobs most in demand in the Twin Cities are in nursing, customer service, and information technology.

But even in a job market that's strong statistically, it can still be hard for individuals to find work.

Sieglinde Waller of St. Paul was laid off from her job as a project manager at an engineering company in 2011. After more than three years of unemployment, the 49-year-old finally landed a job selling insurance.

But Waller says the stress and long hours of her new work aggravated a chronic medical condition and she had to quit after just six weeks.

Waller said she finished her associates degree several years ago, but quickly found it wasn't enough to get her a new job in her field or even one that was a good fit.

"I looked at administrative jobs. I'm overqualified for most of them. And that's the biggest thing," Waller said. "I have too much experience but not enough education."

Waller said she's glad to see the job market improving, but since there's a mismatch between her skill set and employers' demands the often-cited rising tide has yet to lift her boat off the rocks.