Scary and Invisible #1

According to recently released statistics from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development,(DEED), in January of this year, the unemployment rate for Marshall stood at 4.5%. The rate doesn't get any lower anywhere else in the entire state. The average unemployment rate is 7.6% for 64 cities state-wide who measure this statistic.

Fewer folks in Marshall are listed as unemployed than anywhere else in the state. Brainard sits on the opposite end of the list at 21% unemployment. The Twin Cities are in the 7+% unemployed range.

Seems pretty obvious that Brainard and other "resort cities" have seasonal jobs that keep the unemployment rate a bit inflated this time of year. Add to that the folks in the construction industry who add a fair amount of numbers to the rate as well.

For us in Marshall, the news has mixed connotations. Here's the rub as I see it:
1. The folks eligible for unemployment in Marshall may not have many jobs to pick and choose from. With such a low rate, does that mean those who chose to work are working?
2. How many folks in Marshall are currently underemployed? Some may still be taking advantage of a separation or severance package that prohibits them from officially joining the ranks of the "unemployed" (according to state rules anyway). I'd like to call these the "invisible unemployed." Hard to say how many are living in Marshall.
3. A low unemployment rate means a tougher sale to bringing new jobs to town. To an outside employer this may be seen as fewer folks in the workforce to choose from if they were to try to move jobs here.
4. Or, even more scary is that many folks in Marshall who were previously unemployed may have left and moved from our community. The upcoming census efforts may shed some light on this.

I'm not sure that having the lowest unemployment rate in the state constitutes a win-win scenario for Marshall.