Dear neighbors,
I hope you and your loved ones are having a great summer.
As we all know, Minnesota is a great place to live, work, raise a family and do business. It’s a big reason why our state is becoming a national economic leader.
Over the past few months, we’ve received a tremendous amount of positive economic news showing that businesses are expanding, more people are working and the middle class is growing.
Here are some of my favorite recent economic highlights:
• Minnesota has gained over 160,000 jobs since Gov. Dayton took office in January 2011. And we have gained nearly 70,000 jobs since the legislative session began in January 2013. This is one of the best job creation rates in the country.
• In 2012 and 2013, our economy grew by 4.9 percent. This is significantly higher than the national GDP growth, ranks 13th in the country, and is ahead of nearly all of our Midwestern neighbors.
• Forbes ranks Minnesota as the 8th best state for business in the country due to our business climate and growth prospects. Wisconsin is ranked 41st.
• CNBC ranked Minnesota as the 6th best state in the country for business in 2014. MN ranks higher than every other midwestern state and receives top marks for infrastructure, business friendliness and the strength of our economy.
• The Twin Cities metropolitan area has the lowest unemployment rate of any major metropolitan area in the nation. Our four percent unemployment rate is the lowest among the 42 metropolitan areas in the country with at least 1 million people.
If you want to learn more about Minnesota’s strong economic performance, please feel free to contact me by phone at (651) 296-1188 or by email at rep.leon.lillie@house.mn.
I hope you are getting plenty of opportunities to gather with family, friends and loved ones this summer. Be sure to take advantage of all our great state has to offer, whether it's our beautiful parks, trails, lakes or one of the many festivals throughout the metro area! And if you are able, please donate non-perishable food items to our local food shelves to help those in our communities who are less fortunate.
Sincerely,
Leon Lillie
State Representative, District 43B