ST PAUL, Minn. — Job numbers released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) show the negative impacts that came in the full month of the COVID-19 battle.
Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 8.1% in April, according to DEED's latest numbers. Unemployed Minnesotans increased by 160,627, to a total of 249,453 between March and April. Seasonally adjusted payroll employment decreased by 359,800 jobs in April.
“DEED is dedicated to helping Minnesotans who have lost their job or had their hours reduced over the past two months,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. “We were one of the first states in the nation to fully implement all three elements of the CARES Act to quickly get benefits out the door to as many people as possible. While the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our state in many ways, we continue to work closely with our state agency partners and health, business and labor leaders to reopen Minnesota businesses, safely return more people to work, and stem the tide of COVID-19 on our economy.”
Another measure of COVID-19 impact on Minnesota's economy is the state's daily data on new and reactivated unemployment insurance applications. The latest daily unemployment insurance report showed 695,156 new applications and reactivated accounts from March 16 to May 20.