Minneapolis Overview

The diversity of Minneapolis’s economy, which features a mix of healthcare, manufacturing and technology, sustained the area through the recession. The city is often combined with St. Paul, and referred to together as the Twin Cities. The Minneapolis job market and economy should see continued improvement in 2012.

Minneapolis Job Opportunities

The University of Minnesota fuels an innovative and educated community. The region is a leader in healthcare, with 19 health and medical institutions and 61 research and clinical labs employing 2,300 physicians, more than 250 researchers and 12,000 staff. Other critical areas include bioscience and medical technology, advanced manufacturing, financial services, information technology, renewable energy, and food manufacturing.

Trade, transportation and utilities is Minneapolis’s top employment sector followed by education/health services and professional/business services. Professional/business services and other services have reported the strongest percentage growth in Minneapolis jobs recently while government, leisure and hospitality, and information have declined.

Minneapolis Employment Trends

The Minneapolis job market has been relatively strong throughout the recession. The city’s unemployment rate, which remained below 9 percent during the downturn, began 2012 at or below 6 percent. City payrolls, which dropped for two-and-a-half years during the recession, have been positive since mid-2010. Online job postings grew strongly in 2011 and are now near prerecession levels.

From Q2 2012 to Q2 2013, jobs in Minneapolis are expected to increase 1.8 percent, more than the 1.1 percent growth expected in the US job supply, according to Moody’s Analytics.