ST. PAUL, Minn. – The latest Minnesota jobs report found unemployment grew slightly to 3.3% in August amid an expanding workforce. “This is great,” said state employment Commissioner Matt Varilek. “We added the most jobs in a single month in two years, reflecting employers’ ongoing appetite to hire more workers.” Eight of 11 employment sectors grew. The leaders:
> Leisure and hospitality: Up 4,300 jobs.
> Education and health services: Up 4,200.
> Professional and business services: Up 3,900.
Wages grew twice as fast as inflation. The average private-sector hourly wage was almost $38 — 5.9% than year earlier. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.5% in the same period.
Unemployment by ethnicity in August:
> Native American: 8.3%.
> Black: 5.2%.
> Hispanic: 3.7%
> White: 2.8%.
> Asian: 1.8%.