Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota government shutdown is already a memory, but its consequences were felt Friday in a national hiring report that had a gloomy outlook for government jobs.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s July hiring report showed a slight uptick, with employers adding 117,000 jobs — the best figure in three months. Private business added 154,000 jobs nationwide, but that didn’t correspond to government employment, with about 37,000 jobs lost.
Turns out well more than half of those were the 23,000 Minnesota state employees temporarily laid off as a result of the 20-day shutdown that started July 1. They’ve now been back to work for about two weeks, after Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative Republicans finally agreed on a new, two-year budget.