Employers in the state of Minnesota added a number of jobs during the month of September, so much so that the unemployment rate during the month of September ended up dropping down as the recovery continues to take place. The unemployment rate dropped down a bit, reaching 5.8 percent, which is well under the national unemployment rate.

The national unemployment rate is currently at 7.8 percent. A total of 5,900 jobs were added according to the Department of Employment and Economic Development. The job gains that took place last month have helped the state add a total of around 34,700 jobs over the span of the past 12 months. Over the past year, the number of jobs in the state of Minnesota has grown by a total of 1.3 percent. A senior employment specialist at the Employment Action Center, Mark Struthers, has said, “I think we continue moving forward a bit sluggishly.”

Even with the number of jobs being added, the state of Minnesota still has a long way to go before a full recovery has taken place. In fact, it has already been three years since the Great Recession ended, which caused the economy in the United States to cripple. And, even though it has already been three years, only a total of about 57 percent of the jobs that was lost during the recession have come back. If this particular pace continues, it will take another two years for the state to recover all of the jobs that were lost from February of 2008 up until September of 2009. Struthers says that even though jobs are being created, it is still difficult for many to find a new job. He said, “It continues to be a competitive job market.”

There are many residents of the area who know and understanding that feeling quite well, including Jon Bathke. Bathke is a manufacturing executive from the Maple Grove area. He has been looking for employment for the past few months, ever since the month of March, which is when he was laid off by the company he was working for. He says that he has done a few interviews with different companies but has not found anything. Bathke says, “There just aren’t openings.” He also said, “There are a lot of very talented executives looking for work right now from lots of different companies.”

The manufacturing sector has been one of the most significant sectors for the recovery in the state but over the past few months, it has been showing signs of weakness. In just two months, a total of 5,600 jobs within the manufacturing sector have been cut.