Rochester Remains Minnesota’s Job Growth Hub

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Rochester remained Minnesota's top job growth engine in August.

According to the latest jobs data released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Rochester-area economy added more than 7,500 jobs between August 2024 and last month. That works out to a job growth rate of 5.9%.

Rochester Adds 7,500 Jobs Over Past Year

That matches the year-over-year job growth rate reported for July and is slightly stronger than the 5.7% growth rate from August of last year. It is also much stronger than the statewide job growth rate for August of 1.3%.

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Rochester's job growth rate was easily the strongest in Minnesota. The Mankato area had the second-highest job growth rate last month at 4.2%, with a gain of more than 2,300 jobs.

The Twin Cities metropolitan area saw a net gain of more than 15,600 jobs, but that only resulted in a 0.8% increase in the region’s job growth rate. Duluth's job growth rate was below a half percentage point, while St. Cloud has seen a net loss of nearly 650 jobs over the past 12 months.

The August jobs report indicates the entire state saw a net gain of about 5,900 jobs from July to August. That translates into a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.6%, which is 0.4 percentage points higher than the jobless rate reported for August 2024.

Education and Health Services Drive Statewide Gains

Over the past year, the statistics show Minnesota has added 39,255 jobs. Nearly 37,700 of those positions were in the private sector, with the education and health services sector leading the way by adding more than 30,000 jobs.