Rochester Unemployment Rate Uncharacteristically Higher in March

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The unemployment rate in the Rochester area moved higher in March, which is a month during which the jobless rate is most often steady or drops slightly.

The latest jobs report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development put the unemployment rate for Olmsted County last month at 3.2-percent. That's up 3-tenths of a point from February and is 2-tenths of a point above the rate from March of last year.

The jobs report also shows most of the counties in southeastern Minnesota experienced slight increases in unemployment in March, while the others were steady. Olmsted County continued to have the lowest rate and Fillmore County was still the highest at 5.1-percent. Dodge counties saw the biggest increase in its jobless rate last month, with it rising 4-tenths of a point to 4.9-percent.

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