Rochester’s unemployment rate climbed to 3.4% in May from 3.1% in April, though it remained 1 percentage point below Minnesota’s 4.4% statewide rate.
The increase also put Rochester above its 3.0% rate a year earlier, but local economic officials said the small move fits a steady, manageable growth pattern rather than a sharp slowdown.
Manufacturing posted the biggest employment gain in the Rochester area, while healthcare continued to anchor the local job market and other major sectors also showed strength.
Statewide, Minnesota added 5,400 seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs in May, but the lower unemployment rate was also tied to a sixth straight monthly drop in labor-force participation to 67.2%.