The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) recently announced that employers in our state added 9,500 jobs in December, bringing total job growth in Minnesota to over 45,000 in the past year.
The positive jobs report comes on the heels of a new study conducted by BMO Harris Bank that found Minnesota business owners are among some of the most optimistic in the country about their own future and the future of the economy. Ninety-four percent of Minnesota business owners surveyed feel that their business will either grow or stay at the same level in 2014.
Our economy is in a far better place than it was one year ago, but there are still too many families and small businesses that have yet to feel the recovery. Creating good jobs and ensuring economic security for all Minnesotans remain my top priorities heading into the 2014 Legislative Session, which kicks off on February 25.
Putting more people back to work will require our state to use every tool at our disposal, but we also need to turn the challenges we face into opportunities for economic growth.
That’s exactly the kind of problem-solving attitude I observed last weekend as hundreds of people in our region gathered at St. Olaf for the Northfield Area Climate Summit, a community-led information and discussion forum for residents, businesses, and institutions.
Negative impacts of climate change such as frequent flooding, rising energy prices, and big costs associated with disaster relief are all challenges facing our state. But they present opportunities to propel Minnesota towards more jobs and economic security.
Taking simple preventative measures such as flood mitigation puts people back to work in the short term and protects our homes and businesses from property damage in the long term. It’s a smart way to prevent the kind costly damage our region faced after a major flood last summer.
Diversifying our state’s sources of energy is another step we can take to grow our economy.
We made progress in this area during last year’s Legislative Session by establishing a solar energy standard of 1.5 percent by 2020 and 10 percent by 2030. Other legislation complimenting those goals includes incentives for community ownership and solar product manufacturers and installers in Minnesota. It’s a strategy designed to reduce energy costs for consumers and unleash an industry that can create well paying jobs for middle class Minnesotans.
In 2008 and subsequent years I introduced legislation to advance renewable energy and create demand for local manufacturing and installers, quite similar to provisions in the Energy Policy bill that established our new solar energy standard. Those kinds of steps are all the more important considering how research has shown that a thriving manufacturing industry is what our economy needs to increase wages and invigorate all other sectors.
It is clear we need to explore new opportunities to expand our economy and create good jobs. Diversifying our sources of energy offers many avenues for making that happen. Last weekend’s Climate Summit reaffirmed for me that the ideas and entrepreneurial spirit are out there. We just need to find ways to bring people together so we can put those ideas into action. I’m confident the people of Minnesota will meet that challenge and build a brighter economic future.