Minnesota's July jobs report revealed that state employment is nearing pre-recession levels. In the past year, Minnesota had a growth rate of 2.6 percent, compared with the national rate of 1.7 percent. Minnesota employers added 4,300 jobs in July, with large numbers of jobs added in government and the financial sectors. The state needs to add 5,500 more jobs to recover the positions that were lost during the recession.
See "Minnesota nears prerecession employment levels", John Welbes, Pioneer Press, August 15, 2013