Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Minnesota
Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Minnesota
Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, notably as economic experts bandy around the idea of a potential recession by 2023. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2008-2010—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of June of this year, national unemployment is at 3.5%, 0.1% lower than in May, marking a three-month stagnation—following a steady drop since that aforementioned COVID-affected peak. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 1.8% in Minnesota, to 4.9% in New Mexico and 5.5% in the District of Columbia. Further breakdown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows yet another county-based spectrum within each state.
To that end, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rate in Minnesota using data from the BLS. Counties are ranked by unemployment rate in June 2022, which as of this writing is the most current Bureau data.
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#50. Anoka County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
-Total Labor Force: 202,024 (4,445 unemployed)
#49. Stearns County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
-Total Labor Force: 88,899 (1,964 unemployed)
#48. Watonwan County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 6,330 (140 unemployed)
#47. Chisago County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 30,257 (670 unemployed)
#46. Isanti County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 21,910 (486 unemployed)
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#45. Brown County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
-Total Labor Force: 13,321 (296 unemployed)
#44. Hennepin County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
-Total Labor Force: 717,498 (15,989 unemployed)
#43. Sibley County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 8,022 (179 unemployed)
#42. Pennington County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 8,575 (192 unemployed)
#41. Kandiyohi County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 22,511 (513 unemployed)
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#40. Lac qui Parle County
--- 1 month change: +0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
-Total Labor Force: 3,275 (75 unemployed)
#39. McLeod County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 18,755 (432 unemployed)
#38. Big Stone County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
-Total Labor Force: 2,372 (55 unemployed)
#37. Crow Wing County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 32,724 (760 unemployed)
#36. Cottonwood County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 6,569 (153 unemployed)
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#35. Becker County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
-Total Labor Force: 18,576 (433 unemployed)
#34. Steele County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 19,116 (446 unemployed)
#33. Kittson County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
-Total Labor Force: 2,183 (51 unemployed)
#32. Todd County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 12,986 (306 unemployed)
#31. Freeborn County
--- 1 month change: +0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 15,079 (356 unemployed)
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#30. Cass County
--- 1 month change: +0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 17,723 (421 unemployed)
#29. Yellow Medicine County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
-Total Labor Force: 4,840 (115 unemployed)
#28. Ramsey County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
-Total Labor Force: 290,733 (7,099 unemployed)
#27. Martin County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 9,280 (227 unemployed)
#26. Cook County
--- 1 month change: +0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 2,836 (70 unemployed)
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#25. Marshall County
--- 1 month change: +0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
-Total Labor Force: 5,180 (129 unemployed)
#24. Benton County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 21,405 (538 unemployed)
#23. Swift County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 4,598 (116 unemployed)
#22. Faribault County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 6,781 (173 unemployed)
#21. Kanabec County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 9,039 (232 unemployed)
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#20. Red Lake County
--- 1 month change: +0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 2,142 (55 unemployed)
#19. Mille Lacs County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 12,660 (330 unemployed)
#18. Beltrami County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 23,951 (636 unemployed)
#17. Carlton County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 17,479 (466 unemployed)
#16. Lake of the Woods County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 2,384 (64 unemployed)
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#15. Morrison County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
-Total Labor Force: 17,134 (460 unemployed)
#14. Polk County
--- 1 month change: +0.9%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
-Total Labor Force: 15,649 (421 unemployed)
#13. Pine County
--- 1 month change: +0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 14,018 (385 unemployed)
#12. St. Louis County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 100,297 (2,794 unemployed)
#11. Waseca County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 8,554 (239 unemployed)
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#10. Aitkin County
--- 1 month change: +0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 7,438 (213 unemployed)
#9. Norman County
--- 1 month change: +0.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 3,149 (91 unemployed)
#8. Hubbard County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
-Total Labor Force: 10,458 (305 unemployed)
#7. Wadena County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 5,822 (172 unemployed)
#6. Renville County
--- 1 month change: +0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 7,820 (232 unemployed)
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#5. Itasca County
--- 1 month change: +0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 21,075 (719 unemployed)
#4. Koochiching County
--- 1 month change: 0.0%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
-Total Labor Force: 5,645 (207 unemployed)
#3. Mahnomen County
--- 1 month change: +0.8%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
-Total Labor Force: 2,114 (83 unemployed)
#2. Clearwater County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
-Total Labor Force: 4,337 (190 unemployed)
#1. Lake County
--- 1 month change: +1.2%
--- 1 year change: +1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 5,551 (277 unemployed)
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