Minnesota’s Evolving Labor Market Insights
Across Minnesota, recent DEED blog posts highlight shifting labor dynamics: while job counselors in the Central and Southwest regions report that finding work has become slightly harder, the overall market remains regionally varied, with Central Minnesota faring somewhat better. Other updates show progress in wage growth in the Northwest, reduced hours worked in the Northeast, part-time work as an entry point in the Southeast, and recognition of workers with disabilities during National Disability Employment Awareness Month in the Twin Cities Metro. For more information, please reach out to your regional analyst.
A new Job Search Experience survey conducted by DEED is helping fill a gap in labor market information by sharing insights on the experience of assisting people in finding jobs. Forty-two job counselors in Central Minnesota who help job seekers find employment shared their insights in the most recent survey, which was completed in July. When asked how easy it was for job seekers to get hired compared to a year ago, counselors in the region largely echoed statewide trends: it's slightly harder for most job seekers to find employment than it was a year earlier. However, the regional responses suggest the labor market remains somewhat more favorable for job seekers in Central Minnesota than statewide
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). With this awareness, we commemorate the many and varied contributions of people with disabilities to America's workplaces and economy. The theme for NDEAM 2025 is "Celebrating Value and Talent." Along with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) also recognizes the importance that workers with disabilities bring to the state's labor market and economy. Through DEED's online resources, including Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS), those with disabilities can develop work skills, find suitable jobs and live as independently as possible. DEED also has resources for employers looking to hire and retain workers with disabilities.
Hours worked are on the decline in Northeast Minnesota. As provided by DEED's Quarterly Employment Demographics, median hours worked per quarter in 2024 were 387, down from pre-pandemic levels in the 400s. The overall decline is rather small at first glance, down eleven hours on average per quarter from 2021, equivalent to about an hour less per week. What is perhaps more notable is who is working less and by contrast, who is working more.
Not only have Northwest wage increases outpaced inflation, but the region's wage gap with Minnesota statewide has been cut in half over time. Twenty years ago, Northwest wages lagged statewide wages by 23.5%. Today, that gap is just 11.2%.
Part-time work serves as a crucial entry point into Southeast Minnesota's labor market for high school students taking their first jobs, college students getting income while they go to school, parents returning to work, retirees staying engaged and career changers testing new fields. These positions offer flexible schedules while building workplace skills, and for employers, they provide access to a diverse talent pool with the flexibility to scale staffing based on demand. Data from DEED's Job Vacancy Survey shows that about 27% of job openings in Southeast Minnesota were part-time.
Results from the Job Search Experience survey collected in July 2025 indicate people utilizing the CareerForce system in Minnesota to look for work are having a harder time finding employment now compared to last summer. In South Central Minnesota, a much higher share of job counselor respondents stated that hiring has gotten harder over the past year, with 67% believing that jobseeker clients are finding it harder to get employed, including 27% who said it was "much harder" than a year prior. In contrast, less than half (47%) of job counselors in Southwest said that hiring was harder, and another 47% said hiring conditions were about the same as the past year. In both regions, only 7% of job counselors who responded said that job seekers were finding it easier to get hired, which was lower than the state overall (11%).
No easing up: employer services staff say hiring is still a challenge
https://careerforce.mn.gov/careerforce-blog/no-easing-employer-services-staff-say-hiring-still-challengeSurvey responses are in from 103 workforce development and economic development staff who work with Minnesota employers; 85 of those respondents have worked with employers for at least one year. Roughly 36% of employer services staff who have worked with employers for at least a year indicate that the employers they are working with are having a somewhat harder or much harder time hiring compared to a year ago. Of the remaining 54 respondents, roughly 28% said it was somewhat easier or much easier for employers to hire and 35% said it was about the same as a year ago. Employer services staff also shared their thoughts on employers' use of AI, what benefits employers believe are most important to attract and retain staff and employers' general outlook for the next six months. The survey was conducted the last two weeks in September 2025. Find out more about these survey results. |
|
 |
|
