Look Where Minnesota Now Ranks In New U.S. Employment Report
It's an election year, and unemployment rates are always a topic of conversation at both the state and federal levels.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate at the end of September 2024 was 4.1%, just 0.3 percentage points higher than in September 2023.
Over the past 10 years, the national unemployment rate average is 4.47%, with the highest point of 6.7% coming in 2020, the year of the pandemic and recession.
While those numbers represent the national unemployment rate, how does each state rank for having jobs available? A recent report was done to help answer that question.
Determining The Best States For Employment In The United States
The methodology for this recent report compared the 50 states across two key dimensions: Job Market and Economic Environment.
It assigned a heavier weight to the former, considering the factors in that category most heavily influence a job seeker’s decision regarding relocation for employment.
Then, an evaluation was done of the two dimensions using 34 relevant metrics, each assigned a corresponding weight. A sample of the relevant metrics used include:
- Job Opportunities
- Employment Growth
- Unemployment Rate
- Share of Civilian Labor Force Unemployed 15 Weeks or Longer
- Underemployment Rate
- Industry Variety
- Employment Outlook
- Worker Protection Score
- Protections around sexual harassment.
- Monthly Average Starting Salary
- Share of Workers Living in Poverty
- State Income: Tax Burden for Low, Middle, & High-Income Earners
Next, each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for job seekers.
Lastly, it determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank each state.
Minnesota's Ranking In The New Employment Report
When all the data was analyzed, Minnesota ended up being ranked extremely high. Minnesota finished #3, with only New Hampshire and Vermont ranking higher.
The report notes that Minnesota ranked as the third-best state for jobs, in large part, because it has the third-highest median household income, at over $82,000, adjusted for the cost of living. It also has the 10th-highest average monthly starting salary, at nearly $3,900.
In addition to positive compensation numbers, Minnesota workers also have good access to benefits. The state has the 9th-highest share of workers with private health insurance and the 6th-best access to employer-based retirement plans.
Another feather in Minnesota's cap is that it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, at just 2.7%, over a full percentage point lower than the national average.
It also has the 13th-most job opportunities per capita. The good news continues for workers who are parents as Minnesota is the fourth-best state for both working moms and working dads.
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Minnesota's neighboring states finished #5 (North Dakota), #9 (South Dakota), #11 (Wisconsin), and #28 (Iowa).
The Best States For Jobs In The United States
Below is where each state ranked in this report, along with their total score.
- New Hampshire: 65.99
- Vermont: 64.97
- Minnesota: 63.14
- Massachusetts: 62.70
- North Dakota: 62.28
- Virginia: 61.47
- Maine: 61.34
- Rhode Island: 61.22
- South Dakota: 60.74
- Maryland: 60.25
- Wisconsin: 60.05
- Connecticut: 58.15
- Missouri: 57.96
- Washington: 57.36
- Nebraska: 57.23
- Texas: 56.75
- Michigan: 56.28
- Colorado: 55.94
- Arizona: 55.81
- Tennessee: 54.91
- Illinois: 54.89
- Utah: 54.83
- South Carolina: 54.75
- New Jersey: 54.46
- Georgia: 54.38
- Delaware: 54.37
- Florida: 54.12
- Iowa: 53.76
- Pennsylvania: 52.02
- Nevada: 51.82
- Ohio: 51.41
- North Carolina: 51.03
- Hawaii: 50.97
- California: 50.81
- Oregon: 50.77
- New Mexico: 50.54
- Kansas: 50.14
- Alabama 49.95
- Arkansas: 49.26
- Mississippi: 49.16
- New York: 48.82
- Idaho: 48.40
- Wyoming: 48.35
- Oklahoma: 47.69
- Montana: 46.97
- Alaska: 45.81
- Kentucky: 45.61
- Indiana: 45.10
- Louisiana: 42.56
- West Virginia: 37.71
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