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 October of this year, national unemployment is at 3.7%, 0.2% higher than in September. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2.0% in Minnesota, to 4.5% in Illinois and 4.7% 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 September 2022.
#50. Brown County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 13,145 (222 unemployed)
#49. Dakota County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 244,557 (4,158 unemployed)
#48. Goodhue County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 25,840 (452 unemployed)
#47. Marshall County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 5,057 (84 unemployed)
#46. Martin County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 8,999 (152 unemployed)
#45. Mower County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 20,011 (345 unemployed)
#44. Redwood County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 7,120 (118 unemployed)
#43. Stearns County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 89,668 (1,498 unemployed)
#42. Cottonwood County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 6,486 (117 unemployed)
#41. Kandiyohi County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 22,150 (395 unemployed)
#40. Kittson County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 2,139 (38 unemployed)
#39. McLeod County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 18,445 (331 unemployed)
#38. Pennington County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 8,503 (155 unemployed)
#37. Polk County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 15,445 (278 unemployed)
#36. Sherburne County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 53,396 (944 unemployed)
#35. Swift County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 4,483 (82 unemployed)
#34. Todd County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 12,853 (230 unemployed)
#33. Anoka County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 200,438 (3,760 unemployed)
#32. Beltrami County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 23,787 (457 unemployed)
#31. Benton County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 21,587 (415 unemployed)
#30. Cass County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 17,093 (331 unemployed)
#29. Chisago County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 30,065 (560 unemployed)
#28. Cook County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 2,947 (56 unemployed)
#27. Crow Wing County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 31,867 (605 unemployed)
#26. Freeborn County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 14,816 (283 unemployed)
#25. Hennepin County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 712,429 (13,514 unemployed)
#24. Isanti County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 21,761 (422 unemployed)
#23. Sibley County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 8,000 (153 unemployed)
#22. Steele County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 18,840 (356 unemployed)
#21. Faribault County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 6,739 (132 unemployed)
#20. Morrison County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 16,838 (334 unemployed)
#19. Ramsey County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
- Total labor force: 288,327 (5,833 unemployed)
#18. Carlton County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 17,411 (360 unemployed)
#17. Kanabec County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 8,930 (191 unemployed)
#16. Norman County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 3,077 (64 unemployed)
#15. Red Lake County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 2,116 (45 unemployed)
#14. Waseca County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 8,472 (179 unemployed)
#13. Hubbard County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 10,182 (229 unemployed)
#12. Mille Lacs County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 12,574 (280 unemployed)
#11. Pine County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 13,847 (307 unemployed)
#10. St. Louis County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 99,800 (2,163 unemployed)
#9. Renville County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 7,959 (184 unemployed)
#8. Aitkin County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 7,287 (174 unemployed)
#7. Wadena County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 5,743 (135 unemployed)
#6. Itasca County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 20,460 (515 unemployed)
#5. Koochiching County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 5,442 (141 unemployed)
#4. Lake of the Woods County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 2,293 (59 unemployed)
#3. Clearwater County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 4,420 (130 unemployed)
#2. Mahnomen County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 2,121 (64 unemployed)
#1. Lake County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: +2.1%
- Total labor force: 5,448 (250 unemployed)