Rochester Area Economy Set New Jobs Record in April

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester area set a new record for total employment in April.

The latest jobs data released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development indicates the statistic, which roughly reflects the number of jobs, reached 91,788 in Olmsted County in April. The previous record of 91,541 was set last August.

The size of the local labor force came close to reaching the record reached last July. The estimate for April was just under 93,600, while the all-time high is just over 93,700.

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The unemployment rate for Olmsted County fell 3-tenths of a percentage point from March at just 1.9%. It's the first time the local jobless rate has been under 2% this year and it is a tenth of a percentage point below the rate reported for April of last year.

The Rochester area unemployment rate remained the lowest in the region, where every county reported a drop in unemployment in April. The biggest drop was reported in Dodge County where the jobless rate was down a full percentage point from March, but it also remained the highest rate in southeastern Minnesota at 2.6%.