Minnesota has regained just 49% of jobs lost at start of COVID-19 pandemic
Minneapolis skyline (FOX 9)
(FOX 9) - Minnesota has regained just 49% of the jobs lost at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic development officials say.
Of the 416,300 jobs shed from February-April 2020, 205,100 have come back, according to the latest report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Job losses have been greatest in the leisure and hospitality industries.
Minnesota's unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3% in February, approaching the 3.1% pre-pandemic level.
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But, the jobless rate does not tell the entire story. Thousands of Minnesotans have stopped looking for work over the past year, bringing the state's labor force participation rate down to 67.8 percent, compared with 70.2 percent before the pandemic.