St. Jude Medical deal sheds light on key Minnesota industry

Minnesota's medical technology industry has been a vital part of Minnesota's economy for decades. And St. Jude Medical's employee count in Minnesota is 3,000 — third only to Medtronic and Boston Scientific — which is one reason people are taking note of Abbott Laboratories' $25 billion acquisition of the company on Thursday.

Here is some information about the industry in Minnesota:

1. The industry is growing, adding new jobs and investments, according to the Medical Alley Association, which supports a corridor of companies that stretch from Rochester to Duluth. The number of job postings in the health technology industry have risen 33 percent since 2013. Health technology investments in 2015 hit a record $434.5 million and came from venture capitalists, private equity, angel investors and more, according to Medical Alley's 2015 Annual Investment Report. Of the investments, 18 companies raised more than $7 million.

2. The 931 companies that were part of the Medical Alley Association's 2015 Annual Workforce Report indirectly employ 125,000, with average compensation of $122,000.

3. The top three medical device employers in the state are Medtronic with 9,000 workers, Boston Scientific with 7,100 and St. Jude Medical with 3,000. Other big medical technology employers, according to Medical Alley, are 3M Health Care, Smiths Medical, Starkey, Beckman Coulter, Optum, Bio-Techne and Upsher-Smith.

Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926