The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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April 21, 2009

More jobs in Mankato

Area unemployment rates high and low

By Tim Krohn

MANKATO — The latest unemployment rates in area counties range from far below the state average to way above.

Minnesota had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8.2 percent and an 8.9 percent rate if not adjusted, according to figures released Tuesday.

Nicollet County had the lowest unemployment rate in the area at 6.7 percent. (County rates are not seasonally adjusted.) Blue Earth County was at 7 percent.

But the other area counties had unemployment considerably higher than the state average: Brown, 10.3 percent; Faribault, 11 percent; Le Sueur, 13.7 percent; Sibley, 9.8 percent; Waseca, 9.6 percent; and Watonwan, 10.7 percent.

The unemployment rate in the greater Mankato/North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area went from 6.6 percent in February to 6.9 percent in March. In spite of that, the area actually added about 450 jobs from February to March.

In the nine-county area in and around Mankato, 11,870 people are listed as unemployed, far up from the 7,524 unemployed in March 2008.

Locally, there are some indicators that some sectors are looking up.

Construction began to make some rebound after a lackluster fall and winter.

In March, residential building permits in Mankato and North Mankato were well over $2 million combined, far ahead of the same time a year ago. The difference is that most of the permits were for remodeling, and fewer for new homes.

The sale of vehicles in Mankato improved in February, according to local sales tax collections by the city of Mankato. There were 538 vehicles sold in February, up considerably from the month before and nearly to the level of February 2008.

Sales tax collections on all other retail stores were $367,823 in February. That’s up some $40,000 from the year earlier.

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