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To the thousands of Minnesotans who have lost their jobs or will in the coming months, Dan McElroy has a message: Help is available.
Minnesota’s unemployment rate rose to 6 percent in October, compared with 5.9 percent in September, for a net loss of 7,500 jobs, a figure that’s expected to get worse as the national economic crisis deepens.
McElroy, commissioner of the state Department of Employment and Economic Development, announced the updated jobless rate Thursday at the South Minneapolis WorkForce Center, which helps people get unemployment benefits and find work through job listings, classes and other career services and programs.
"We have 47 centers like this one around the state that exist to help people find employment, to get back in the job market, to access resources," McElroy said.
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In Austin, a job center is at Riverland Community College, 1900 Eighth Ave. N.W.
While Minnesota continues to bleed jobs, Rochester’s job market is still growing, largely because of a robust health sector led by Mayo Clinic.
Minnesota employers cut 7,500 jobs in October and have cut 16,400 jobs since a year earlier. The number of jobs in the Rochester metropolitan area was unchanged over the month, and was up 600 from a year earlier, according to DEED figures. The metro area consists of Dodge, Olmsted and Wabasha counties.
For more information, see Postbulletin.com/weblinks.
MinnesotaWorks job bank: http://www.MinnesotaWorks.net
Minnesota WorkForce Centers: http://www.mnwfc.org
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development: http://www.deed.state.mn.us
State gateway to education and career information: http://www.iseek.org
