New DEED Research Shows How Regaining Past Immigration Levels Could Help Ease Minnesota’s Labor Shortage

Minnesota continues to experience an extremely tight labor market with workforce shortages constraining job growth, because employers can't find the staff they need to fill open positions. The pandemic exacerbated what was already a tightening labor market due to our aging population and the decline in working age residents as Baby Boomers continue to retire. New research from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) shows how increasing international immigration to levels seen prior to 2015 could help offset a significant portion of the labor force decline we've witnessed recently.

"DEED is focused on doing everything we can to help Minnesota employers find the workers they need to grow and thrive," said Temporary DEED Commissioner Kevin McKinnon. "Minnesota manufacturers aren't able to expand in some cases because they can't find employees – and Minnesota nursing homes aren't able to care for patients ready to be released from hospitals because they don't have enough caregivers. Those are just two examples of the impact we've seen of workforce shortages across industries, throughout the state."

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