Minnesota Unemployment Up in January, But Jobs Growing

ST. PAUL  (AP) - Minnesota's unemployment rate ticked up slightly in January but state officials say the state has more than 12,000 new jobs compared to a year earlier.

The Department of Employment and Economic Development released its monthly tally of state economic indicators on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was two tenths of a percent higher than in December, but as usual outperformed the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent.

The 11 industrial sectors tracked by the agency all showed year-over-year growth rates for the first time since 2000. Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben says at the current rate of growth the state will soon have recovered all jobs lost in the recession. The biggest gains came in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Other leaders were construction, and leisure and hospitality.