Highly Concentrated
With the release of new Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics data for the first quarter of 2024, this month's blogs look explore the high concentration of employment in specific occupational groups in the Twin Cities, Northeast, Northwest, and Southwest. Southeast Minnesota's blog also examines location quotients, but at the industry level for Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Health Care, while Central highlights just the Beverage Manufacturing subsector. For more local information, please reach out to your Regional Analyst!
Overall, the Metro Area's 1.7 million jobs account for approximately three-fifths (60.5%) of Minnesota's total jobs. Zooming in, however, reveals that certain occupational groups are much more concentrated in the Metro Area. For example, Legal, Computer & Mathematical, Business & Financial Operations, and Architecture & Engineering occupations all have more than 70% of their respective statewide employment located just in the Metro Area. Other occupational groups with more than 60.5% of statewide employment in the Metro Area include Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports & Media; Life, Physical & Social Science; Management; Personal Care & Service; Healthcare Support; and Office & Administrative Support.
In Central Minnesota, the Beverage Manufacturing industry serves as a notable economic driver, offering employment opportunities and contributing to the region's economic vitality. From large-scale breweries and bottling plants to niche distilleries and specialty beverage producers, the sector provides more than 1,000 jobs across various occupations. With a focus on both production and hospitality, these businesses create jobs ranging from brewers and distillers to sales representatives and tasting room staff. As the industry continues to grow and evolve, it plays a role in supporting local communities and providing sustainable employment opportunities for residents throughout Central Minnesota.
OEWS showed an estimate of just over 138,000 jobs in Northeast Minnesota as of the first quarter of 2024. The occupational groups with the most jobs were Office & Administrative Support (16,760 jobs), Food Preparation & Serving Related (13,910), Sales & Related (11,740), Healthcare Practitioners & Technical (11,510), and Healthcare Support (9,260). These five occupational groups accounted for nearly half (46%) of employment in the region.
There are unique features of the Northwest that make wages for some occupations similar or even higher than the statewide averages. Advantages are often reflected in high concentrations of employment in certain occupations. It stands to reason that if a region has a competitive advantage in certain economic activities, there is likely to be a concentration of regional employment supporting those activities.
The Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, & Hunting, Health Care & Social Assistance, and Manufacturing industries are crucial to Southeast Minnesota's economy. Each of these industries has a location quotient that surpasses the state average, highlighting their significance within the region. Despite facing challenges such as demographic shifts and economic recessions, these sectors have shown resilience and remain key contributors to the regional economy.
Southwest Minnesota is well known for a high concentration of employment in the Agriculture and Manufacturing industries, as well as Educational Services and Public Administration. This is reflected in Location Quotients (LQ) calculated from the newly released Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) for the first quarter of 2024. The data show several unique distinguishing occupations in Southwest Minnesota, mostly related to the industries of strength.
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