State economist: Unemployment figures show Minn. in recession
The latest unemployment figures have prompted the state's economist to say that Minnesota is now in a recession.
Minnesota's unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent in December, up from 4.4 percent in November. The state has lost 23,000 jobs over the past six months.
It's the worst series of jobs numbers since the 2001 national economic downturn.
State economist Tom Stinson tells the Star Tribune the numbers mean the state is in a recession, and he can't label it anything else.
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Stinson says that in more normal times the state would add about 23,000 jobs over a year.
Instead the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says the state lost 700 jobs from this time last year.
--- Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)