Minnesota unemployment rate drops 0.2 percent

ST. PAUL - Minnesota’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in September, a 0.2 percentage point fall from August, the Department of Employment and Economic Development announced Thursday.
The national rate both months was 5.1 percent.
At the same time, Minnesota lost 5,700 jobs last month after gaining 7,300 in August. In the past year, Minnesota gained 35,242 jobs, a 1.2 percent growth rate.
“Minnesota has added more than 235,000 jobs since hitting the low point of the recession in September 2009,” DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben said. “Despite last month’s job losses, six of the state’s major employment sectors are up from a year ago.”
The biggest September job gains came in leisure and hospitality services. The biggest losses were in other services as well as education and health.
The Twin Cities reported the largest job gains in September, up 1.8 percent, followed by Duluth (0.5 percent increase) and Rochester (0.4 percent higher). The Mankato area job numbers remained the same while around St. Cloud jobs numbers fell 0.2 percent.