April 2017

For Your Calendar

800 West Broadway Open House

Date: Friday, April 28

Time: 10 a.m.

Location: 800 West Broadway

Link

Minneapolis Workforce Development Board Meeting

Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Time: 8:00 a.m.

Location: TBA

March 2017 Unemployment Rate for Minneapolis

The March 2017 unemployment rate dropped slightly to 3.4 percent, down .3 percent from February, resulting in 7,845 residents unemployed and actively seeking employment, a decrease of 639 unemployed from February to March.

The federal government’s estimate of the Minneapolis labor force rose between February and March with 1,001 residents joining the labor force, resulting in a total labor force of 232,872. The year-over-year trend for March shows higher labor force participation and a .2 percent lower unemployment rate from one year ago.

March’s 3.4 percent unemployment rate in Minneapolis is 1 percent lower than the State of Minnesota, .2 percent  lower than the seven county metro area, and 1.2 percent lower than the national average.

The March Minnesota Employment Review Is Now Available

The Minnesota Employment Review, published by the LMI (Labor Market Information) Office, examines labor market conditions and key economic indicators statewide. Learn what the outlook is for youth summer employment in 2017. Also find industrial and regional analysis, Minnesota economic indicators, current employment statistics and local area unemployment statistics.   

New Study: Workforce Diversity in Minnesota

In a first-of-its-kind study, DEED reached out to Minnesota employers to better understand how they're approaching workforce diversity. The study found that in general, larger employers – those with 250 or more employees – are more actively trying to increase racial diversity in their workforces than those with fewer than 50 workers.

Is there a business case for diversity that would appeal to small business? The study's authors concluded that more research will be needed. Read initial findings in Workforce Diversity in Minnesota.

View past issues of the Minneapolis Workforce Development Board News.

800 West Broadway Open House

800 West Broadway, a collaborative center bringing together the North Minneapolis WorkForce Center, Minneapolis Public Schools and NorthPoint Health and Wellness, is open for business. 800 West Broadway will serve the entire community, offering residents the ability to access health care services, community education classes, and career services.

Date: Friday, April 28, 2017

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Location: 800 West Broadway

(Parking is available in the CUB parking lot across the street.)

If you need an accommodation to attend, call 612-299-7200.

At the Open House, visitors can:

• Meet employers who are currently hiring
• Take a tour of the building
• Receive a free health and wellness check from NorthPoint Health and Wellness

Learn more about 800 West Broadway here.

Over 1,500 Minneapolis Youth Complete STEP-UP Mock Interviews

The City of Minneapolis STEP-UP Youth Employment Program hosted its 14th annual “mock interviews” at the Minneapolis Convention Center over four nights the week of April 10.  At the event, 1,500 Minneapolis youth preparing for STEP-UP internships gained real-life interview experience and feedback from over 400 Twin Cities business professionals. The event provided youth with insight on how to prepare and dress for an interview, communicate professionally, and network during a real interview. 

Many STEP-UP youth consider the mock interview one of the most important parts of their work readiness training, allowing them to test out their new skills and learn to relax under stress, all while receiving constructive feedback from real business professionals.

Prior to the mock interview, youth completed 7-14 hours of work readiness training – depending on their level of work readiness – managed by City partners AchieveMpls and Project for Pride in Living and certified by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. These trainings focused on professional communication, problem solving, professionalism, interview skills and resume writing.

The 1,500 young people who attended the mock interviews, as well as over 400 middle school STEP-UP youth who do not attend mock interviews, are now job-ready and will be placed into a  position during the month of May. STEP-UP expects to place nearly 1,700 youth into paid job experiences this summer. 

Creating IT Futures, Minneapolis Urban League and the City of Minneapolis Offer IT Program

This summer Creating IT Futures, Minneapolis Urban League (MUL) and the City of Minneapolis are offering the award-winning IT-Ready career program in north Minneapolis.

The free eight-week class for Minneapolis residents is run by Creating IT Futures and will be hosted and funded by Minneapolis Urban League's Urban Tech Jobs Program, with additional funds from City of Minneapolis Employment and Training and The Minneapolis Foundation. 

Class begins June 12th and runs until August 4th at MUL located at 2100 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis. Applications are due by May 19.

IT-Ready trains and certifies information technology (IT) workers and helps place them into their first paid IT role. IT-Ready is part of the City of Minneapolis' MSP TechHire initiative. To close the workforce skills gap in the high-tech economy, the MSP TechHire initiative enables diverse workers to access training, support and tech jobs across the Greater Minneapolis Region.

Source

DEED: Minnesota Surpasses 2.5M Private Sector Jobs for the 1st Time

Minnesota employers added 5,300 jobs in March, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). With these gains, Minnesota’s private sector has 2,504,400 jobs, surpassing 2.5 million jobs for the first time in state history. 

In addition, the agency said February’s job gains were revised from 3,800 jobs gained to 6,200 jobs gained. Over the past year, the state has gained 48,162 jobs, a growth rate of 1.7 percent. U.S. job growth during that period was 1.5 percent. Since January 2011, Minnesota has gained 268,000 jobs.

Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped in March to 3.8 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in March.

Professional and business services led the gains followed by a strong job jump in leisure and hospitality.

In the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, the following regions gained jobs in the past 12 months: Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA (up 2.1 percent), Rochester MSA (up 0.5 percent), St. Cloud MSA (up 1.0 percent) and Duluth-Superior MSA (up 0.8 percent). The Mankato MSA lost jobs (down 0.3 percent).