Minnesota unemployment rate falls to 8.6% after record high

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — State officials said Thursday that Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 8.6% in June after hitting a record high of 9.9% in May during the coronavirus pandemic.

The June figures reflect the reopening of indoor service at restaurants and bars after Minnesota’s stay-at-home order ended. Minnesota added 84,700 payroll jobs in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 3.2%, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The private sector added 84,400 jobs during the month, up 3.8%. Government added 300 jobs. DEED Commissioner Steve Grove said many Minnesotans who were laid off are starting to come back to work. But Grove says Minnesota’s unemployment rate remains more than double what it was before the pandemic.