Rochester’s February Jobless Rate Was Lowest in 20 Years

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester area, along with most of southeastern Minnesota, enjoyed modest declines in unemployment last month.

The latest jobs data from the state shows the jobless rate for Olmsted County fell 2-tenths of a point from January to 2.9-percent. The February rate was also down 2-tenths of a point from the unemployment rate reported a year ago and it was the lowest for the month of February since 1998. The data also shows the size of the labor force in Olmsted County hit a new all-time high for a second straight month at 88,675.

The unemployment rate last month for Olmsted County was the lowest in the region, where the highest rate reported was 5-percent in Fillmore County. The biggest drop was recorded in Houston County, where the jobless rate fell from 5-percent to 4.4-percent from January to February.