Rochester Jobs Report Shows Highest May Jobless Rate in Years

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - New jobs data from the State of Minnesota shows the unemployment rate in the Rochester area last month was the highest it has been for the month of May since the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

Olmsted County Posts Highest May Jobless Rate Since 2020

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development is reporting that the unemployment rate for Olmsted County in May was 3.4%. That was three-tenths of a percentage point above the jobless rate for April and four-tenths of a percentage point higher than the unemployment rate in May of last year.

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By comparison, the unemployment rate for Olmsted County in May 2020, at the peak of the economic shutdown, was 11.3%.

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Declines in Employment and the Labor Force

The data shows overall employment in the Rochester area last month was slightly higher than the total from April but was down by more than 2,000 jobs compared with May of last year. Meanwhile, the size of the labor force in Olmsted County shrank by a little more than 1,700 workers.

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Mixed Results Regionwide

Across the region, there was a mixed bag of reports from southeastern Minnesota counties, with some experiencing increased unemployment and others posting slightly lower jobless rates. Despite the increase from April, Olmsted County was tied with Dodge County for the lowest unemployment rate in the region at 3.4%, although Dodge County saw its jobless rate fall by three-tenths of a percentage point. Goodhue County had the highest unemployment rate in the region at 3.9%, which was unchanged from April.

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