Counties: Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Pine, Renville, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright 

  • Central Minnesota is home to 17,900 business establishments providing 276,400 jobs through 2018. Average annual wages were $43,746 in the region.
  • The industries that employ the most people in the Central Region are Healthcare (49,900), Manufacturing (42,400) and Retail Trade (36,800).
  • Jobs in the Central Region are projected to grow 8.6 percent from 2016 to 2026, a gain of 26,629 new jobs. In addition, the region is also expected to need 157,485 replacement openings to fill jobs left vacant by retirements and other career changers. 
  • The fastest growing occupations in the Central Region will be in the following fields: Personal care and service, construction and extraction, transportation and material moving, sales and related, and healthcare support and practitioners.

Check out our other regions: Metro Region, Northeast Region, Northwest Region, Southeast Region, Southwest Region, Statewide

For Career Seekers

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For Employers

Meet Your Regional Team

Workforce Strategy

Della Ludwig
320-308-5364

Disability Employment

West Central: Paulette Liestman
320-441-6582
South Central: Marci Jasper
763-344-3018

Regional Labor Market Analysis

Luke Greiner
320-223-6992

Layoff Assistance

Liz McLoone
651-259-7145
Lolita Davis Carter
651-259-7665

Business Development

West Central: David Heyer
651-259-7468
East Central: Bradley Brzezinski
218-310-7757

Veterans Employment

Mark Mann
763-279-4424