ST. PAUL, Minn. — Economic indicators tracked by the Minnesota state jobs agency showed signs of slowing in July, although not as much as national metrics. The state lost 4,400 jobs in July. Unemployment increased marginally to 3.5%. The state’s labor force participation rate fell slightly to 68.2%. State jobs Commissioner Matt Varilek believes the downward slope has something to do with President Trump’s economic policies, specifically tariffs and federal funding cuts. Chaotic Trump tariffs have destabilized business planning, which has broad and negative economic effects, Varilek said. Also, he said, Trump budget cuts on federal data-gathering agencies have slowed reporting on metrics that state-level calculations rely on to varying degrees.
