Economy and jobs
Upper Midwestern States Bearing the Brunt of Rising Unemployment
Although the majority of Upper Midwestern states are currently experiencing some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, the rate of increase, particularly during the last four months, has hit this region of the country particularly hard. Overall, three…
Read MoreDecember 2013? July 2016? Estimating When Unemployment Will Return to Pre-Recession Levels in Minnesota
Governor Tim Pawlenty and State Economist Tom Stinson have frequently declared that Minnesota is in its worst recession since World War II. If that is the case, how long will it take to return to the halcyon days of a…
Read MoreJobless Claims Rate of Increase Slowed Across Upper Midwest in February
Preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment data for the month of February 2009 was released on Wednesday and Thursday for three Upper Midwestern states, with each showing a reduction in the rate of growth of jobless claims. While unemployment rates continued to…
Read MoreHeading (North) West, Young Man? Not So Fast, Minnesota
What with Minnesota’s unemployment rate and per capita 2010 budget deficit the largest in the entire Upper Midwestern region, one wonders if Gopher State residents will soon look to the purportedly thriving Dakotas to find economic shelter during these trying…
Read MoreRadio Host Mike Gallagher Blames Failure to Sell His House on Obama and Congressional Democrats
Nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host Mike Gallagher lamented this morning that his failure to sell his own house, that he recently placed on the market, was due to the psychological effects burdening the wealthy resulting from the class…
Read MoreSouth Dakota Suffers Record Unemployment Jump in January
Although South Dakota has not yet been hit by the scale of job losses experienced across the nation or the Upper Midwest, the new January numbers released on Friday by the state’s Department of Labor indicate South Dakota, like its…
Read MoreBreaking News Analysis: Minnesota’s January Unemployment Numbers Set State Records
Every month Smart Politics writes a new analysis on the latest dire unemployment numbers released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), and each month our analysis unearths new trends behind the numbers that document why the…
Read MoreNo Excuses? Minnesota’s Unemployment Rate Less Tied to National Economy Than That of Wisconsin and Iowa
As December’s unemployment numbers demonstrate, Minnesota continues to endure a skyrocketing rate of job losses, especially when compared to its neighbors to the south and west. To the west, North Dakota and South Dakota have the second and third lowest…
Read MoreHow Bad Are Things In Minnesota, Really?
From the rising unemployment numbers to the state budget crisis, the news in Minnesota seems to be getting worse and worse. Adding insult to injury came the recent news last week that Minneapolis ranked as the fourth least desirable metropolitan…
Read MoreHow Long Will It Take to Regain the 65,000+ Jobs Lost in Minnesota in 2008?
The near universal legislative support of the unemployment bill signed into law on Thursday by Governor Tim Pawlenty is a first step by the state to address an economic and employment crisis that is escalating at record levels in Minnesota….
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