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Brainerd’s jobless rate rose to 12.7 percent in December, a mirror image to the unemployment rate one year ago.
The city’s area jobless rate was 11.6 percent in November.
Bemidji’s jobless rate for December was 11.7 percent. Brainerd and Bemidji were the only two city areas — of those with populations of 10,000 or more — in the state with jobless rates in double digits. There are 66 large cities in the state.
Fifty-two other cities in the state posted December jobless rates between 3 percent to 5.8 percent. And a dozen other cities had December jobless rates of 6 percent to 9.7 percent. Grand Rapids was pushing the edge of that envelope with the 9.7 percent.
Brainerd has a labor force of 7,408 people and from the labor force 942 are unemployed, according to the latest numbers from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The Brainerd micropolitan, which includes Crow Wing and Cass counties, had a December jobless rate of 8.6 percent. The labor force in the micropolitan includes 46,216 people, of which 3,974 were without jobs. The micropolitan’s jobless rate increased from 7.6 percent in November. A year ago, the micropolitan had a jobless rate of 8.9 percent.
Minnesota’s jobless rate as of December, seasonally adjusted, was 5.5 percent, a slight drop from November’s 5.6 percent. The state has ranged from 5.5 percent to 5.9 percent since November of 2011. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate in December was 7.8 percent, largely unchanged from September.
December unemployment rates across the seven-county area were:
■ Aitkin County — 8.1 percent.
■ Cass County — 9.6 percent.
■ Crow Wing County — 8.2 percent.
■ Mille Lacs County — 9.5 percent.
■ Morrison County — 8.4 percent.
■ Todd County — 6.4 percent.
■ Wadena County — 7.6 percent.
There were 8,533 people out of the labor force without jobs across the seven-county area. The jobless rates went up in all the counties in December, which is a typical trend as the winter deepens in the lakes region.
RENEE RICHARDSON, senior reporter, may be reached at 855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Dispatchbizbuzz.
Comments (7)
Add commentDoes this
include all the people who no longer or never have been able to get benefits due to whatever reason the state came up with not to pay them.
Probably does not include
Probably does not include people who haven't received benefits because they were self-employed or similar.
It wouldn't include the millions who have stopped looking for work as they are considered out of the work available numbers. Many more are unemployed than what are counted in the unemployment numbers.
downtown has potential if
downtown has potential if they get rid of the sleezy bars add more brew pubs, good music, and other activities other that skanky bars. Maybe some more real restaurants and allowing food trucks?
sadie
I agree with your statement dealing with self employed.But when a person is in a position and has to leave a job due to reasons beyond the business or the workers control,medical or whatever it may be.To then have worker told by the state, no unemployment,you did not ask to be accomodated when both parties involved knew this without having to ask the question. Eco One can only hope the new blood on the counsel will bring change despite the old guard still there thinking it the 30 or 40s.
Downtown Brainerd has NO chance,
that ship sailed 20 to 25 years ago. The only thing that has even kept it relevent at all is the fact that the government buildings are there.
Sad
I thought Obummer fixed all this!
moving forward
Moving forward with the new norm. It appears that the smart people have found a way to balance this statistic but what about the budget?