Minnesota lost 600 jobs in June

by MinnPost staff 07/15/202102/06/2024

Food and sales job losses aren’t necessarily surprising given the closure of bars, restaurants and other businesses ordered by the governor. — `[image_credit]Photo by Esther Lin on Unsplash[/image_credit]`

Jobs loss. The Star Tribune’s Kavita Kumar reports: “Minnesota’s job recovery unexpectedly stalled in June with the state losing 600 jobs after seeing sizeable gains every other month of this year, according to data released this morning by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). … That trajectory is at odds with the U.S. as a whole, which added a higher-than-expected 850,000 job in June, an increase from prior months. … In April and May, Minnesota added 13,400 and 9,000 jobs, respectively, numbers which were both revised in the latest release. … June is the first month the state has recorded an overall loss in jobs since December 2020 when stricter state-enforced limits on businesses were still in place to battle coronavirus.”

Well, it’s something. WCCO’s Caroline Cummings reports: “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed an executive order Thursday restricting conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth in the state, a widely discredited practice aiming to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. … Conversion therapy has been a topic of debate for years at the Minnesota State Capitol. In 2019, the Democratic-controlled House passed a proposal to ban the controversial practice. However, the proposal failed to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate. … Walz’s actions Thursday do not outright ban the practice, as some states have done, but it bars public funds from being used for it. To actually outlaw the practice rests with state legislature.”

The last straw. Also from WCCO: “Gov. Tim Walz has requested emergency aid from federal officials to help Minnesota farmers and ranchers impacted by the worsening drought. … In a Wednesday letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Walz asked that Minnesota farmers be allowed emergency grazing and haying on land that’s been set aside for conservation as part of the Conservation Reserve Program.”

Trimming COVID transmission. MPR’s Riham Feshir reports: “Teto Wilson doesn’t need to know your business. But if you sit in his chair, you might have shared it with him anyway. … ‘People tell their barbers and hairstylists everything,’ he said with a laugh. ‘Sometimes we hear things about people that we’re not even interested in knowing. I guess people look at us like trusted messengers.’ … Wilson is trying to capitalize on that trust with his clients in the fight against COVID-19. Over the next five weeks, his north Minneapolis barbershop, Wilson’s Image Barbers and Stylists, will double as a vaccination clinic for customers and community members.”