Minnesota Passes Wisconsin in Total Jobs

by | Jul 12, 2018

Total 2017 employment in Minnesota eclipsed that of Wisconsin for the first time in history,* despite having over 200,000 fewer people. Just ten years ago, Minnesota had 93,000 fewer jobs than Wisconsin. The Gopher State now has 6,200 more jobs, according to the...

Minnesota Still Outperforming “Right to Work” Wisconsin

by | Apr 4, 2018

For most of the last decade, earnings in Minnesota and Wisconsin grew at a similar pace—until 2015. In that year, Wisconsin adopted its so-called “right to work” (RTW) law. Since then, earnings growth in Wisconsin slowed relative to Minnesota. In 2017, the average...

Higher Wages Needed to Meet Basic Needs

by | Aug 25, 2016

Many Minnesota jobs do not pay enough to meet the basic needs of a typical Minnesota family, according to data from the “Minnesota Cost of Living Study Annual Report 2016” prepared by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). In fact,...

Many Minnesota Jobs Don’t Meet Basic Needs

by | Aug 24, 2016

In parts of Minnesota, median wages are not sufficient to meet the basic needs of a typical family. Furthermore, in all regions of the state, there are likely a significant number of workers with wages that are not adequate to meet basic needs. These conclusions are...

Minnesota’s Working Poor Still Hurting

by | Aug 4, 2016

About a quarter of a million Minnesota workers had cause to celebrate earlier this week, as the state’s minimum wage increased. However, millions of workers in Minnesotans and other states are still stuck in low wage jobs that do not adequately compensate them for the...