Northeast Minnesota's Regional Economy from 1980 to 1991

Abstract

Over the last twelve years, Northeast Minnesota has gone through some profound economic changes. The economy of the area has undergone significant economic restructuring that down-sized the region's most important industry. From 1979 to 1985, the area's economy lost 22,000 jobs and 20,000 people. This decline in employment occurred over a six year period of time. During this same period, the state of Minnesota was growing with total employment growing by about 5 percent. Nevertheless, the restructuring of the regional economy has helped to diversify the industry of the area and make it less prone to changes that might affect a single industry.