Minnesota adds 13,200 jobs in June as unemployment holds at 4.4%
Minnesota added 13,200 jobs in June 2026, a 0.4% monthly increase, while the state’s unemployment rate held at 4.4%, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The June increase marked Minnesota’s third consecutive month of job growth. DEED released the statewide employment update July 17 and compared Minnesota’s unemployment rate with a 4.2% U.S. rate.
The report provides a monthly snapshot of statewide hiring, unemployment and labor-force measures. It does not establish that all industries, workers or households saw improvement during the month, and it does not by itself show annual economic growth.
Education and health services posted the largest gain
Five Minnesota supersectors gained jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis from May to June, DEED reported. Education and health services led the reported increases, adding 7,800 jobs.
Professional and business services added 3,500 jobs. Manufacturing added 2,800 jobs, and leisure and hospitality added 2,700 jobs.
DEED also identified construction as among the industries contributing to June employment growth. The available figures show that the month’s job gains were concentrated in several large sectors rather than representing a reported increase across every part of the state economy.
Education and health services accounted for the largest individual sector increase reported by the agency. The professional and business services, manufacturing, and leisure and hospitality gains each exceeded 2,000 jobs, making them significant components of the monthly statewide change.
Unemployment was unchanged as labor-force measures fell
Minnesota’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4% in June. That was 0.2 percentage points above the 4.2% national unemployment rate cited by DEED in its comparison.
At the same time, Minnesota’s labor force declined to 3,131,190 workers and the labor-force participation rate fell to 67.0%. The agency reported those changes alongside the payroll increase and unchanged unemployment rate.
Those measures describe different parts of the labor-market picture. The reported June results show employers added jobs in the state, while the number of people counted in the labor force was lower and the participation rate declined.
For businesses, the sector detail indicates where the reported hiring was concentrated during the month. For workers and policymakers, the labor-force figures are an important accompanying measure because the employment increase occurred alongside a smaller labor force.
A preliminary monthly reading
DEED characterizes the monthly labor data as preliminary, meaning the figures may be revised. The 13,200-job figure is a one-month change, not a completed measure of longer-term employment growth or a forecast of future hiring.
The June report is therefore best read as the state’s latest official monthly measure of payroll changes by industry, unemployment and labor-force participation. Its headline result was broad enough to include gains in five supersectors, but the release does not support a conclusion that every industry expanded.
DEED’s July 17 release and its state-and-national employment data page provide the underlying statewide figures used in the update. Future monthly releases and any revisions to preliminary data will provide additional context for whether June’s employment increase is sustained.
Sources
- Minnesota Adds Jobs for Third Consecutive Month, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
- State and National Employment and Unemployment, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development