St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 19, No. 2

Authors

King Banaian, St. Cloud State UniversityFollow
Richard A. MacDonald, St. Cloud State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Research Study

Publication Date

6-11-2017

Abstract

St. Cloud-area businesses report strong growth over the past three months, and the area's future outlook remains solid. Pay­roll data indicate overall St. Cloud metropolitan area employ­ment grew at a 1.4 percent annual rate over the year ending April 2017. This is more rapid than the average annual job growth rate of 0.9 of a percent observed since 2002.

Once again, the construction sector led the way with nearly double-digit job growth, followed by strong gains in the whole­sale trade and educational/health sectors. On the other hand the financial activities, transportation/warehousing/utilities, manu­facturing, information and leisure/hospitality sectors all experi­enced year-over-year job losses.

The leading economic indicator series contracted by 0.11 of a percent in the last quarter. Surveyed firms indicate strong busi­ness activity in the current quarter with higher employee com­pensation and a lengthening of the workweek. They also high­light increased expected difficulty attracting qualified workers over the next six months.

Comments

Originally published as a supplement to the Sunday edition of the St. Cloud Times newspaper on 11 June 2017.

Recommended Citation

Banaian, King and MacDonald, Richard A., "St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 19, No. 2" (2017). St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report. 74.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/scqbr/74