St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - Minnesota experienced a slight increase in the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month even as total employment hit an all-time high.

The new jobs report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development shows the jobless rate for March was 3.2-percent, which is an increase of a tenth of a point from February. It’s also up two-tenths of a point when compared to March of last year.

“Unemployment insurance claims remained steady last month – in spite of the rising unemployment rate,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. “This suggests that Minnesotans may be looking for better employment opportunities.”

State officials say the data shows Minnesota had a net gain of about 1,300 jobs last month with the construction sector reporting the largest gains. Over the past year, the state has seen a modest increase of about 7,600 jobs.

The data also puts total employment in Minnesota at a new record high of 2.99 million. The size of the state’s labor force also reached a new historical high at over 3.09 million workers.

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