Duluth Unemployment Rate Down over Year | Business

Duluth's unemployment rate ended 2012 slightly lower than it ended 2011.

The jobless rate in Duluth for December was 5.8 percent, down slightly from 5.9 percent a year earlier, according to statistics released this week by the Minnesota Department of Employment.  The December rate was up two-tenths of a point from November, but local unemployment rates are not adjusted for normal seasonal variations.

St. Louis County's unemployment rate for December was 6.6 percent, which was the same as it was one year earlier.  The rate was up from 6.2 percent in November.

Outside of St. Louis County, every northeastern Minnesota county except Koochiching saw unemployment rates decline over the course of a year.

Minnesota's statewide unemployment rate for December, not adjusted for seasonal variations, was 5.4 percent, down from 5.8 percent a year earlier. The adjusted rate for December was 5.5 percent.