Marching Forward
March is both Women's History Month and Social Work Month, which is highlighted in the Twin Cities, Northeast, and Southeast blogs. The Northwest blog continues to explore the demographic shifts affecting labor force availability, while the Southwest blog focuses on commuting patterns and working close to home. Finally, Central Minnesota's blog looks at changing farm incomes from the newly released 2022 Census of Agriculture. For more local information, please reach out to your Regional Analyst!
March is Women's History Month, where the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history is commemorated and encouraged. To a similar end, this month we'll study, observe and celebrate the vital role of women in the Twin Cities Metro Area's labor market. A quick look at major industry sectors reveals stark gender differences, with Health Care & Social Assistance (76.7%), Educational Services (68.4%), and Other Services (57.5%) having the highest shares of female-held jobs.
The dynamics of farm incomes serve as a barometer for the health of Central Minnesota's rural economy. From fluctuations in crop prices to shifts in government policies, numerous factors influence the financial well-being of farmers. In Central Minnesota, farm incomes have a large degree of variability, both over time and across counties due to differences in soil type, land productivity and farm size. This is highlighted at the extremes according to the newly released 2022 Census of Agriculture.
In celebration of Women's History Month, here is a (brief) history of women in the workforce in Northeast Minnesota using Census data. Women are slightly less likely to be in the labor force (employed or actively looking for work) than men. However, for the women that are in the labor force, they are less likely to be unemployed than their male counterparts. The unemployment rate for women in the region (4.2%) was nearly a full percentage point less than that for men (5.3%).
DEED's most recent Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) reveal a slight uptick in the 2023 annual unemployment rate in the region. Does this mark the end of our tight labor market? To answer this question, we need to understand the long-term demographic trends that underpin how Northwest Minnesota's labor market got so tight to begin with. Although it may seem so, our tight labor market did not begin with the pandemic recovery, it is part of a longer-term demographic shift.
The National Association of Social Workers celebrates March as Social Work Month, highlighting the significant and varied roles of Social Workers across different sectors. These professionals are engaged in a wide array of areas, including health care, the criminal justice system, child welfare, education, substance abuse recovery, disability services, mental health care and research, just to name a few. In this month's blog, we will explore employment data of Social Workers in Southeast Minnesota and examine the career trajectories for individuals who earn a degree in Social Work in the state.
Southwest Minnesota has the shortest commute times in the state, with workers averaging less than 20 minutes each way to work. The region's mean travel time of 19.3 minutes was 4 minutes shorter than the state average, and almost 7.5 minutes shorter than the average one-way commute in Central Minnesota, which reached 26.6 minutes in 2022. In sum, more than two-thirds of workers in Southwest Minnesota reported working in their county of residence, about 2 percentage points ahead of the state as a whole.
LMI Training Sessions
DEED's Regional Analysts have scheduled a set of Labor Market Information training sessions for the spring of 2024. These hands-on in-person and virtual training sessions will help attendees learn where to find and how to use DEED’s labor market information data tools. Attendees will navigate data tools on our website (mn.gov/deed/data/) and learn how to use them to understand the local economy and provide guidance to jobseekers and others.
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