Job growth in Minnesota stalled at the start of 2019, data showed Thursday, as employers strained to deal with a labor force that has little prospect of getting larger anytime soon.
The latest hiring data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) showed hiring turned upward again in March, but so did the unemployment rate.
Meanwhile, wages fell, contrary to what typically happens in a time of peak employment.
Monthly data is always volatile, but the longer-term numbers continued to show that job growth is at a trickle, and Minnesota has little fuel to get it going again.
"We are at very tight conditions and the [low] availability level of workers is keeping a lid on our ability to grow jobs at the rates we have seen in the past," said Steve Hine, labor market analyst at DEED.
Demographics are working against employers, with baby boomers retiring in droves, fewer people coming out of school now than a decade ago and immigration plunging.
Meanwhile, Minnesota's labor force participation, at 69.8%, is already one of the highest in the country.
Unemployment benefit claims are near record lows in the state, and data coming next week will likely to show that job vacancies are at another record high.