Local Look blogs: Growing Pains

Locla Look

Each month, DEED's Regional Analysis & Outreach unit produces a series of blogs exploring local labor market information. Please contact your regional analyst for more information.  

Twin Cities MetroMinnesota Economic Trends recently highlighted the importance of Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services in the Twin Cities Metro AreaNot only is it already a highly concentrated sector in the metro, it was the fastest-growing industry in the region over the past five years.

Central MinnesotaInstead of trying to navigate through the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) hierarchy that is universally used in economics, students can now use a new Tableau dashboard that arranges occupational data based on the Career Wheel that the Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities use. 

Northeast MinnesotaData from the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns program shows that Northeast Minnesota relies heavily on small businesses, with just over 50 percent of establishments reporting less than 5 employees. Another 36 percent of businesses had between 5 and 19 employees, meaning only 13.7 percent of businesses in the region had 20 employees or more. Just 17 businesses in the region had more than 500 employees.

Northwest Minnesota: West Central Minnesota boasts a number of quality post-secondary institutions providing students a variety of options, from vocational training to post-graduate work. At the four-year university level, this includes Minnesota State University-Moorhead, Concordia College-Moorhead, and the University of Minnesota-Morris; while at the two-year college level, the region is home to Alexandria Technical and Community College (ATCC) and Minnesota State Community and Technical College (M-State) in Fergus Falls, Detroit Lakes, Moorhead, and Wadena.

Southeast Minnesota: By now it’s obvious that the Southeast region is in the midst of a labor shortage, with a job seeker-to-vacancy ratio of 0.6 to 1 – for every 10 job openings there are only six unemployed people.  This is the lowest of the six regions in the state, tied with the metro region.

Southwest MinnesotaWhile the number of establishments was declining overall, Southwest Minnesota was seeing growth in the number of medium-sized businesses – those with between 10 and 99 employees – over the past decade. This is at least partly due to smaller businesses expanding, a great sign of economic growth for the region.