FAIRMONT – With businesses continuing to come and go, Martin County is staying at around the state average when it comes to the job market and its prospects while dealing with higher unemployment.

When it comes to the numbers, it’s Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Labor Market Analyst Amanda Blaschko’s duty to get the word out on what’s happening with current labor market numbers and projections.

“We disseminate data to the public, organizations, nonprofits and government for people and organizations to make data-driven decisions,” she said.

The most important information Blaschko said she looks at is local area unemployment statistics and the quarterly census of employment and wages.

“All organizations are required to fill that out and bring it in or send it in to the government,” she said. “That gives us the number of firms in each industry, the number of jobs, their payroll and the average annual wage. The only thing that’s a disadvantage about that specific data source is that it does lag a little bit in terms of when the data is put out.”

Job market numbers are currently behind in general due to stoppages and issues created by the government shutdown. The most up-to-date numbers currently are from November.

“In November, the [Martin County] labor force sat at 10,523 people,” Blaschko said. “That includes people who are employed, unemployed or looking for work for the last four weeks. The unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, which did increase from September’s unemployment rate of 3.3 percent.”

This 3.9 percent rate is identical to Minnesota’s most recent unemployment rate of 3.9 percent, and slightly better than the nation’s 4.3 percent unemployment rate.

An unemployment increase is not just month to month, either; it has also increased from the previous year.

“From November 2024 to November 2025, the labor force decreased by 140 people, the number of employed people decreased by 297 people, while unemployed people increased by 157,” she said. “We are seeing a little tick up in unemployment.”

The unemployment rate has been at a higher level since 2022, which Blaschko said is part of the labor market, and which part has the power.

“In 2022, we really experienced lower-level unemployment rates where we were seeing more of a job seekers market,” she said. “Now I’m getting the sense it’s more of an employer market. Employers sometimes have the upper hand, and that fluctuates with the market and over time.”

While this backslide isn’t ideal, Blaschko said current employment numbers are higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the ground level, Mary Shumski is a Workforce Development Supervisor with CareerForce in Fairmont. They help people find jobs and have programs for dislocated workers, welfare program assistance and referrals to other services. Even if it’s something CareerForce itself can’t help with, they have multiple connections with organizations that can.

“We are very much a referral point,” she said. “We refer people in multiple directions if we can’t assist. We’re like a one-stop center,” she said. “People come in and we try to help them. If we can’t, we direct them where they can get some help.”

In Fairmont, Shumski said a majority of the time the people they work with have had an event like a layoff, some type of crisis, or a job seeker who’s looking to pivot. Overall, she said the need for employment services has been constant.

“We help people who have master’s degrees, we help people who haven’t graduated and everything in between,” Shumski said. The demand is there. For Fairmont, you know, we cover all the way across I-90, Faribault County, Watonwan County. We’re a hub right there, and we don’t turn away anybody. Anybody is a job seeker that’s looking for work. That’s what we’re there for. High demand.”

As for the current situation, she said January is often rough for finding opportunities, but hope is on the horizon.

“People are ramping up again because employers hold off a little bit over the holiday,” Shumski said. “There’s demand occupations. We’re always looking for healthcare, truck drivers.”

While it would be nice to know how the job market and unemployment may shift next, DEED Representative Mary Haugen said, given Martin County’s relatively small size, there are many different factors that could weigh in.

“If you had a large employer, a large company, suddenly come and locate to the area, that could change things quickly,” she said. “The economy has so many influences on things.”

CareerForce is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and can be reached at (507) 618-5610.