Labor Market Information
The impacts of COVID-19 have thoroughly spread throughout national, state, and regional labor markets. Looking at the most recent employment numbers available, the unemployment rate for the Seven-County Metro Area hit 9.3%. This represented approximately 164,100 unemployed persons. For reference, the Metro Area unemployment rate was 2.9% in February of 2020, which represented approximately 48,600 unemployed persons.
Now more than four months into the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses and organizations in Central Minnesota – and across the United States – have attempted to mitigate risk in many different ways. Unfortunately, cases of COVID-19 continue to happen, and have been rising in recent weeks. The good news is that weekly Unemployment Insurance (UI) applications for nearly all industries are no longer rising and are a fraction of what they were in mid- to- late March, but the cumulative scale of the layoffs is unprecedented. A few industries of concern in Central Minnesota are health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services, manufacturing, and administrative support and waste management services.
With over $350 million in loans leading to the retention of nearly 60,000 jobs in the region in just over three months, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been a vital source of aid for thousands of Northeast businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data show that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) helped retain more than 100,000 jobs in Northwest Minnesota, nearly half of total employment in the region. At least in the short-term, PPP kept these workers on the payroll and provided relief to businesses. Long-term effects will have to be measured down the road, but the immediate boost was very apparent.
As one of eight metropolitan statistical areas located in the state, the City of Rochester attracts a lot of attention in Southeast Minnesota. After all, it is the largest city in the region with an estimated population of almost 117,000 residents, is home to the Mayo Clinic, and has over one-third (38.5%) of all jobs in the region according to first quarter 2020 estimates from DEED's Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
To help develop a qualified workforce in the region, CareerForce partners Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council (SWMNPIC) and the South Central Workforce Council have been sharing labor market information through the Southwest Minnesota Careers Facebook page. This has included a series of infographics exploring various industries and occupations in demand in the region, ranging from health care to information technology to construction.
Second Annual Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) conference
The second annual Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) conference will take place Thursday, Sept. 10. online. Last year’s conference in Waseca, Minn. brought together more than 100 entrepreneurs, business leaders, economic development professionals,decision makers, and community champions. Participants had the opportunity to connect with others who care about entrepreneurship in their region. Be sure to save the date for this exciting event, and please help spread the word! (The conference will be held in Staples, Minn. in 2021.) Detailed conference information is available at https://z.umn.edu/CEC_Conference2020.
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