Minnesota's jobless rate remains 5.6 percent for the third straight month, according to the figures released Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Employers added 7,200 jobs last month to end a three-month skid of job losses in the state. Minnesota is still well below the national unemployment rate of 8.2 percent.

Mark Dayton joined more than a dozen other Democratic governors in signing a letter urging Congress to extend unemployment benefits for more than 2 million out-of-work Americans. Dayton also wants authorization for Minnesota to continue emergency state unemployment benefits.

The state jobless rate remained unchanged at 5.6 percent even as Minnesota employers shed 900 jobs in May, according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.2 percent last month.

Employment in Minnesota continued to grow in July with more than 6,800 jobs added, the state reported Thursday. Combined with June numbers, the state has added 11,000 jobs in the last two months. Minnesota's unemployment rate, however, climbed 0.2 percent from June to 5.8 percent in July, but still is far below the national rate of 8.3 percent.

Unemployment benefits in Minnesota will end after 46 weeks, instead of the current 60. The Department of Employment and Economic Development says the unemployment rate has been below six percent for three months, which triggers the reduction.

Minnesota employers shaved another 0.2 points in December, reaching the lowest level in three years. The state boosted the number of jobs by 7,900 to bring the unemployment rate down to 5.7 percent.

January unemployment dropped a tenth of a percent in Minnesota as employers added another 15,500 jobs. The unemployment rate for the state is at 5.6 percent. Minnesota's jobless rate is well below the national figure, but job growth is slower than the nation as a whole.