Minnesota Studies Jobs Picture

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) For the first time in two months, Minnesota officials will appraise the state job picture.

The Department of Employment and Economic Development was releasing two months of unemployment data Thursday. The report also will detail job gains or losses for September and October.

Figures are typically released on a monthly basis, but the data collection and analysis were disrupted by the federal government’s 16-day shutdown in October.

At last check, Minnesota had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 5.1 percent, which was substantially better than the nation as a whole. Minnesota had also regained all of the jobs shed during the last recession. But more than 150,000 people seeking jobs in the state still lacked them as of August.