Here's how unemployment in St. Louis County, Minnesota compares

St. Louis County's unemployment rate in December was 2.9%—ranked #45 highest out of 87 in the state.

Nationally, unemployment has leveled with pre-COVID rates, measuring between 3.5% and 4% for most of the past two years. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed a 3.7% unemployment rate in January. Previously, unemployment skyrocketed to 14.7% at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, and those rates remained elevated through late 2021.

Though national unemployment has mostly normalized, local economies vary widely. Stacker used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to analyze unemployment in St. Louis County over time, and how it stacks up within Minnesota and across the nation.

The unemployment rate in St. Louis County is 0.8 percentage points below the national level, and equal to the state level. It ranks #45 among counties in Minnesota—ranked first by the preliminary December 2023 unemployment rate, then breaking ties by the number of unemployed people. It trails behind Big Stone County, with an unemployment rate of 3.0%, but surpasses Stevens County (which has the same unemployment rate).

In real terms, it means an estimated 2,878 of St. Louis County's approximately 99,398 working residents are out of a job at the moment. That's 700 more than last month and 931 fewer than a year ago. Some economists fret another recession may be on the horizon, which would drive unemployment up with business closures and layoffs.

This story was produced using automation across 3,100 counties, boroughs, and parishes, based on writing and data reporting by Paxtyn Merten.