Minnesota Unemployment Claims Continue to Decline Despite Lockdown Measures

Minnesota’s new unemployment claims last week dropped by 9,254 from the week ending Dec. 5, according to Department of Labor statistics released Thursday morning.

Unemployment claims in the state continue to drop despite the ongoing prohibitions of indoor gatherings imposed by Gov. Tim Walz to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus. On Wednesday, Walz announced he was extending his lockdown orders through the holiday season.

Read the full story

Minnesota Unemployment Drops Nearly 24,000 from Prior Week

New unemployment claims last week in Minnesota dropped by 2,978 from the prior week. For the week ending Aug. 8, 9,337 new unemployment claims were registered, compared to 12,315 new claims the week ending Aug. 1.

More Minnesota workers are dropping off the unemployment rolls overall as well. Ongoing unemployment claims for the week ending Aug. 8 stood at 264,267, which is a drop of 23,948 claims from the prior week’s 288,215 claims.

Read the full story

Minnesota’s Unemployment Numbers Exhibit Slight Increase

New unemployment claims increased slightly in Minnesota last week, as well as overall total unemployment, running opposite from the falling national trend reported by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The week-over-week numbers reported for Minnesota the week ending July 4 show 19,886 new initial claims, an increase of 513 initial unemployment claims from the previous week’s 19,373 new claims.

Read the full story

Minnesota Unemployment Claims Continue Upward Trend

More than 29,209 Minnesota workers joined the ranks of the unemployed in the week ending June 6, bringing the total number of state residents filing unemployment claims to 439,782 since government restrictions were put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Week-over-week, Minnesota witnessed an increase of nearly 7,555 new claims from the prior week, during which 21,654 new claims were reported.

Read the full story

Pace of Minnesota Unemployment Slows, But Claims Still Near 440,000

 Even as Gov. Tim Walz allows more sectors of the economy to open, Minnesota unemployment ticked upward to 439,550 total claims in the week ending May 30, compared to 417,084 claims the prior week ending May 23.

All told, 22,466 new unemployment claims were filed in the state last week, a drop of 4,745 claims from the 27,211 claims initiated the prior week, an 18.5 percent week-over-week decrease.

Read the full story

Minnesota Sees Another 28,615 People File for Unemployment

Minnesota’s unemployment numbers continue to tick slightly upward, according to U.S. Department of Labor numbers released Thursday morning.

The state added another 28,615 to its unemployment ranks in the week ending May 23, down only 278 claims from the previous week’s 28,893 claims. The total number of claims reported last week is 443,254, up 5,564 from the prior week’s reported 427,690 unemployment claims.

Read the full story

Gov. Tim Walz Extends Peacetime Emergency Order Until Mid-June

Gov. Tim Walz announced late Wednesday that he will extend Minnesota’s peacetime emergency order for thirty days.

“Our actions have saved lives, but the threat of COVID-19 remains,” Walz said. “The next stages of this pandemic are going to challenge us – an extension of Minnesota’s peacetime emergency will allow us to protect Minnesotans’ health and wellbeing and continue to respond effectively to this rapidly-evolving situation.”

Read the full story

Half Of Minnesota’s Hospitality Businesses May Close Permanently Amidst Walz Shutdowns

Most of Minnesota’s hospitality businesses may be forced to close permanently as a result of Governor Tim Walz’s economic shutdown orders, warns Hospitality Minnesota.

Hospitality Minnesota is an association for lodging, restaurant, resorts and campgrounds, per the organization’s website. This group, along with the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association, the Community of Minnesota Resorts and the Craft Brewers Guild say that existing releif packages aren’t doing enough to keep hospitality based businesses afloat in the state. As a result, over half of these businesses may be forced out of business forever if things don’t change soon, per a local CBS affiliate.

Read the full story