In Minnesota, construction emerges as bright spot for jobs (update)

Posted: 2:35 pm Thu, June 14, 2012 By ChrisNewmarker Tags: jobs, Mark Phillips, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Steve Hine, unemployment

Construction crews work Monday on the future Whole Foods at the site of the former Jaguar car dealership at 222 Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis. Construction over the past 12 months has grown at the fastest rate among industrial sectors in Minnesota. (File photo: Bill Klotz)

Sector notched May gains while Minnesota lost jobs

An apartment building boom and other projects have made the construction industry one of the states few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing employment situation.

Minnesota gained 800 construction jobs in May and 4,200 over the past 12 months, a 4.5 percent increase over the past year that far outpaces the 0.4 percent growth in construction jobs nationwide over the same period, the state Department of Employment and economic development reported Thursday. All numbers are subject to revision.

The overall number of Minnesota jobs meanwhile shrunk by 900 in May, with the states unemployment rate remaining unchanged at 5.6 percent. The number of Minnesota jobs is up 22,600, or 0.8 percent, over the past 12 months, lagging behind the national growth rate of 1.4 percent.

The past three months weve really stagnated. Its pretty clear weve hit a soft spot in line with what were observing nationally, said Steve Hine, research director of DEEDs Labor Market Information Office.

Hine, though, pointed out that construction is presently growing jobs faster than any other sector of Minnesotas economy. Specialty trade contractors, who make up two-thirds of the jobs in the state, have seen a 10.5 percent increase in positions over the past 12 months.

Residential building construction jobs are up 5.5 percent aided by the 13,829 apartment units that are proposed or in development in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Despite the gain over the past year, construction still has a long way to go to gain back the roughly 50,000 jobs the sector lost during the recession.

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In Minnesota, construction emerges as bright spot for jobs (update)