Southwest Minnesota’s Economic, Business Conditions Improving

May 27, 2014

For the first time ever, the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office has generated regional maps that show where business growth is happening in the state. The maps are just part of recently released reports on the state’s economic and business conditions.

Brown County is part of the Southwest Minnesota region. The map dotted with new businesses shows growth in firms registered over the past 14 years, with much of that growth evident in and around New Ulm and Mankato.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said, “It’s extremely useful for local businesses to have access to this information to understand important indicators that are affecting their region’s business and economic development.”

The maps, statistics and trends detailed in the reports can help business owners plan how their companies can anticipate coming changes.

Some of the key findings for regions include the 10,406 new business filings in the Twin Cities metro area in the first quarter of this year. That’s a 0.7 percent rise over last year; employment in the area rose 1.4 percent at the same time.

Here in the Southwest, there were 660 filings for new businesses in the first quarter, a leap of 6.8 percent over a year ago.

Employment also rose in the period, going up 1.5 percent. Unemployment dropped to 5.4 percent from 5.6 percent last year in the quarter ending in March.

The full reports can be found at the Secretary of State’s website.

For more information on how entrepreneurs can take advantage of improving conditions, discuss your circumstances, needs and goals with an experienced business attorney.

Source: InsuranceNewsNet.com, “New Economic and Business Conditions Reports Analyze and Map State’s Development by Region,” May 23, 2014

This information is general in nature and should not be construed as tax or legal advice.