St. Cloud Metro Added 2,500 Jobs in Past 12 Months

ST. PAUL - The state says the St. Cloud metro area has added about 2,500 jobs over the past 12 months.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says St. Cloud's employment figure grew by 2.5% since last August, the fastest in the state.  The Twin Cities grew by 1.1%, Mankato 1%, Rochester was flat, and Duluth lost 1,900 workers.

DEED says the state's unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a point in August to 5.9%, as employers eliminated 2,000 jobs statewide.  The August unemployment rate for the St. Cloud metro area will be released on Tuesday, it was 5.8% in July.