First Quarter 2021 QCEW Update
In this month's Local Look blogs from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development's Labor Market Information office, we explore newly released First Quarter 2021 data from the Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages program, showing which industries were hit hardest and which have made the most recovery progress.
According to DEED's QCEW data, the Seven-County Metro Area had 89,336 establishments supplying 1,629,010 covered jobs during the first quarter of 2021. This was down 164,568 jobs (9.2%) from the region's peak employment before COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of 2019, but is up 79,340 jobs (5.1%) from the nadir of pandemic-induced employment losses during the second quarter of 2020. The 1.6 million jobs during the first quarter of 2021 represents the lowest first-quarter employment level in the Metro Area since 2014.
During the first quarter of 2021, the 13-county Central Minnesota region of Minnesota had 18,962 establishments supplying an average of 259,172 covered jobs. Total quarterly payroll was just under $3.13 billion, with the average annual wage across all industries equal to $48,204. Over-the-year, between the first quarters of 2020 and 2021, total employment in Central Minnesota dropped by 13,284 jobs.
The first quarter 2021 data provide our most up-to-date and detailed look into the economic recovery statewide as well as here in Northeast Minnesota. The employment component of the QCEW program showed that the overall number of jobs remained down 7.8% compared to the first quarter of 2020, the final quarter before the impacts of the pandemic rippled across the U.S. economy.
The number of jobs in Northwest remained down -3.2% compared to the first quarter of 2020, the final quarter before the impacts of the pandemic rippled across the U.S. economy. That was the smallest deficit of the 6 planning regions and the smallest over-the year loss across the past four quarters. Despite having fewer absolute jobs than in both the 3rd and 4th quarter, regional employment is relatively closer to what it was a year previously.
Southeast Minnesota experienced job loss like never before due to the onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent recession. Despite gaining back almost half of the jobs lost from the first to the second quarter of 2020, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data from the first quarter 2021 shows that the region still has a ways to go before reaching full recovery.
New data from DEED's Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages shows that there were 163,696 jobs in the region in the first quarter of 2021 – down almost 8,500 jobs (4.9%) from the pre-pandemic levels of the first quarter of last year. Data show that the region had been seeing year-over-year declines in the first quarter for the past couple years, but the magnitude of this most current COVID-19-related loss is completely unparalleled.
****************************************
The 2021 hybrid conference will be held in Staples on September 9-10th.
For more information about the Staples community, please visit Discover Staples.
****************************************
CareerForce can help you prepare for and find good jobs now!
Visit CareerForceMN.com/GoodJobsNow to get help finding the opportunity that fits your needs. Whether that’s matching your skills to a job that’s available right now, or connecting you to short-term training opportunities that lead to in-demand jobs on promising career paths, we can connect you to the tools and training you need.
Get personal assistance by phone or email with CareerForce specialists. Find contact information for staff at a CareerForce location near you at CareerForceMN.com/locations.
|
