Downer of the Day: Minn. unemployment rate still on the rise

Photo courtesy of Surviving Economic Loss

Have you read so much bad economy news you've become numb to it? We're getting close.

In the latest depressing announcement, Minnesota's unemployment rate went up to 8.1 percent in February. That's a jump from 7.5 percent in January and matches the national average. So how many jobs did we lose and how many more will disappear this year? Check below if you want to go into a deep depression.

State employers cut 13,300 jobs last month. Minnesota lost 18,500 jobs in January.

And it will get worse before it gets better. (Emphasis ours)

More from Politics in Minnesota:

According to the forecast, unemployment in Minnesota is expected to crest at around 9 percent, or roughly double the rate of 4.5 percent that existed in early 2008 as the recession began. In sheer numbers, as state economist Tom Stinson (pictured) told PIM in an interview that ran in the March 6 issue of our subscriber-only Weekly Report, "We're projecting about 70,000 jobs lost [in 2009]. Of that, 35,000 were projected to come in the first quarter of 2009. And of that, the January job numbers from the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) tell us that about 20,000 of those have already occurred. So we've got about 50,000 more to go [before we hit bottom]."

50,000 more jobs to lose? Yikes. We're in for another tough year. At least we have the NCAA Tournament to distract us for the week.

Read the full details of Minnesota's job losses at the Star Tribune.