St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - Minnesota’s economy produced a net gain of around 7700 jobs last month, but there was no change in the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate.

The latest jobs data released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development shows the state’s jobless rate has now been steady at 3.7-percent for three straight months. A year ago, the unemployment rate in Minnesota was 3.9-percent, while the nationwide jobless rate last month was 4.3-percent.

In addition to the net gain of 7700 jobs in July, the report indicates the number of jobs added in June has been revised upward to buy nearly 5000, to around 9300, putting the net gain for the previous 12 months at over 66,700. The Department says that works out to a job growth rate of 2.3-percent, which is well above the national average of 1.5-percent.

“Minnesota is outperforming the rest of the country in a number of key economic measures, including the overall unemployment rate, labor force participation and employment-to-population ratio,” said DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy. “Nine of the state’s 11 industrial sectors are growing faster than the national average.”

The biggest job gains in Minnesota last month were in the education and health services sector, where employment grew by 8400 jobs. The largest job losses were in the trade, transportation and services sector at about 2600 positions.

During the past year, nearly all of Minnesota’s employment gains have been in the Twin Cities, where the net gain in jobs was above 53,000. The Rochester area added just under 2250 jobs for a growth rate of 1.9-percent. The job growth rate for Duluth was 2.4-percent, while St. Cloud’s rate was 1.8-percent and Mankato saw a 1.7-percent increase in jobs.

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