Last Friday, I commented on data released by the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) which show, among other things, that “Total Nonfarm Employment” in Minnesota declined by 4,400 from June to July. Data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) allow us to put that in some context.
Minnesota was one of twenty states to see “Total Nonfarm Employment” decline from June to July, as Figure 1 shows. More concerning, perhaps, is that our state’s decline — -0.1% — was a worse performance than in 43 out of 50 states. Hopefully this is just a one off. From July 2024 to July 2025, Minnesota’s “Total Nonfarm Employment” growth of 1.2% is actually better than in 33 out of 50 states.
Figure 1: Change in Total Nonfarm Employment
Hopefully, July’s numbers were a one off. If they were not, do they signify something about Minnesota’s economy or, as some local commentators claim, federal policy? If federal policy was the driver, one must ask why it did not drive similar outcomes in other states: Why is Minnesota’s economy especially vulnerable?
