Minnesota Unemployment Rate Falls Extending 3rd Longest Streak in the Nation

Only North Dakota and Vermont have gone longer without a jobless rate uptick

The new seasonally adjusted unemployment numbers released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development continue to show the jobs situation improving in the Gopher State while the economic recovery still lags nationwide.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Minnesota fell 0.1 points in April to 6.5 percent, or 2.5 points below the national average of 9.0 percent.

That marks the 23rd consecutive month - dating back to June 2009 - in which the jobless rate has declined or stayed the same in Minnesota - the sixth such longest streak in 35+ years according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics dating back to 1976.

Coming into April, Minnesota had the 3rd longest streak in the nation for consecutive months without seeing an increase in the state's seasonally adjusted rate, behind only North Dakota (April 2009) and Vermont (May 2009) and ahead of Hawaii (July 2009), Nebraska (July 2009), and Kansas (August 2009).

In total, 24 states plus the District of Columbia have enjoyed streaks of 12 or more consecutive months with declining or stabilized unemployment numbers through March.

April data will be released for all 50 states over the coming week.

During this 23-month stretch, the Gopher State has seen its jobless rate decline 23.5 percent, while the national rate has dipped only 5.3 percent (from 9.5 percent in June 2009 to 9.0 percent in April 2011).

The only longer monthly streaks without an uptick in unemployment in Minnesota since 1976 are:

· A 32-month period from April 1993 through November 1996 (falling from 5.1 to 3.7 percent)

· A 30-month streak from January 1986 through June 1988 (falling from 6.1 to 4.3 percent)

· A 29-month period from January 1983 through May 1985 (falling from 9.0 to 5.8 percent)

· A 26-month span from July 2003 through August 2005 (falling from 5.0 to 4.0 percent)

· A 25-month streak from May 1996 through May 1998 (falling from 4.0 to 2.6 percent)

Coming into April, Minnesota had the 11th lowest unemployment rate in the nation, behind three of its Upper Midwestern neighbors: North Dakota (3.6 percent), South Dakota (4.9), and Iowa (6.1) along with Nebraska (4.2), New Hampshire (5.2), Vermont (5.4), Oklahoma (6.1), Wyoming (6.2), Hawaii (6.3), and Virginia (6.3).

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