Minnesota Job Growth Strongest in 22 Years
32,900 new jobs were added in the State of Minnesota during the second quarter (April – June, 2006) this year. This was the strongest growth in jobs in the state in 22 years and it accounted for 10% of the new jobs created in the U.S. during the quarter! In fact, there are now 73,110 more jobs in MN in June ’06 versus June ’05 (2.7% growth in jobs).
This is good news for the housing market. While increasing mortgage rates mean people can’t afford as much, the underlying job strength will help support the marketplace.
Job creation has been a real disappointment for the State of Minnesota and the Pawlenty administration. While home builders rapidly increased the number of units built the past 3-4 years, job creation lagged behind. Now that the builders are pulling back on the number of units they are building, the jobs are increasing. Provided interest rates remain roughly where they are today +/- .5%, this market should be in better shape in 2007.
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