Besides being home to a noted man-made tourist
attraction, the Mall of America, Minnesota boasts more than 10,000 lakes and
serves as the birthplace of the Mississippi River. It is the twelfth largest
state, but in 2004 ranked only twenty-first in population with 5.1 million
residents. Like other areas of the country, Minnesota was hit hard by the
economic and political events of 2000-2001, but it has seen improvement in the
years since then.
Little-Known Facts
Minnesota has over 90 lakes named Long Lake.
Minnesota was once known as “The Bread and Butter State”
because of its high-quality wheat, flour, and dairy products.
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Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic
Development (DEED) maintains a web site that includes regional labor market data
on topics such as current employment statistics, employment projections and mass
layoff statistics. Its Employment Outlook Tool allows you to specify categories
such as high demand/high pay occupation projections where you would learn that
the expected growth from 2004 to 2014 ranges from 11.2 percent for sales
representatives, wholesale and manufacturing to 52.8 percent for network systems
and data communications analysts [Source: Internet System for Education and
Employment Knowledge (ISEEK)].
Unemployment
In May 2007 the statewide, seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate stood at 4.6 percent in comparison to the U.S. unemployment
rate of 4.5 percent. Current unemployment data is available for several areas or
topics, including Minnesota Counties and Large Minnesota Cities. In the Twin
Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) job market, three occupational categories faced a
high unemployment/low vacancy situation in 2005: material recording, scheduling,
dispatching, and distributing workers; construction trades workers; and
assemblers and fabricators. During the same period, nine occupations experienced
a low unemployment/high vacancy rate situation: engineers; physical scientists;
health diagnosing and treating practitioners; nursing, psychiatric and home
health aides; supervisors, food preparation and serving workers; ground
maintenance workers; other personal care and service workers; and retail sales
workers.
Major Industries & Employers
Major industries statewide include manufacturing; trade;
finance, insurance, and real estate; agriculture; and services. In the Twin
Cities area, key industries include manufacturing, high-technology, and banks
and other financial institutions. Sixteen Fortune 500 corporations have their
headquarters in that area.
Minnesota ranks fifth in the U.S. for annual farm
income, with livestock and livestock products making up approximately 50 percent
of that figure. The main manufacturing industry products are computer and
electronic items.
The 10 largest employers in the Twin Cities area are the
State of Minnesota; the U.S. government; Target Corporation; University of
Minnesota; Mayo Clinic; Allina Health; Northwest Airlines; Fairview Health
Services; 3M Corporation; and Wells Fargo. [Source: city-data.com]
Wages and Cost of Living
Minnesota ranked ninth in the U.S. for per capita income
in 2005, at $34,000-plus and it achieved a median household income of
$54,000-plus for the period 2001-2003. Its state income tax rate is three
percent and its state sales tax is 6.5 percent.
The Twin Cities area had a cost-of-living rate of 109.3
in the third quarter of 2004 versus 100.0 for the U.S. According to JobsNow
Coalition, a family of two adults and one child, with one wage earner, would
have needed income of approximately $30,700 per year to meet basic expenses in
the 7-county Metro region in 2006. [Source: city-data.com]
Climate
The state is noted for having hot, humid summers and
severe winters. Record high and low temperatures have ranged between 114 degrees
and –60 degrees Fahrenheit. Monthly average temperatures run from 83.4 degrees
in summer to –2.9 degrees in winter. Annual precipitation for most of the state
(both rain and snow) averages between 22 and 32 inches.
Online Resources
