Rochester Area Sets New Records For Number of Workers and Jobs

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Rochester MN (KROC-AM News) - The number of workers and the number of jobs hit new record highs in the Rochester area at the beginning of this year.

The latest numbers from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development show the labor force in Olmsted County grew by nearly 1500 people from December to January. The total of 91,893 topped the previous record of 91,694 that was set in July 2019.

Total employment in Olmsted County also hit an all-time high in January at 89,389 jobs. The old record of 89,189 was also set in July 2019.

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Those records were set during a month when seasonal factors pushed the unemployment rate for the Rochester area higher. DEED is reporting the jobless rate for Olmsted County in January was 2.7 percent. That was up more than a half of a percentage point when compared to December, but it was also 1.5 percentage points lower than the unemployment rate from January of last year. The rate was also only a tenth of a percentage point above the jobless rate from January 2020, just before the start of the pandemic.

Seasonal factors also pushed unemployment rates higher throughout the region. Dodge County reported the highest jobless rate in southeastern Minnesota at 3.9 percent in January. Dodge County also experienced the largest increase with its unemployment rate rising 1.3 percentage points from December. The lowest rate was found in Winona County at 2.6 percent.

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