Dakota County, MN jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Dakota County’s unemployment rate is 4.4%. Employers filed 1 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 195 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Dakota County economy

  • 4.4%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    3.5% the month before

  • 252,001

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 442,204

    people in Dakota County

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $105,212

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 47%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Where Dakota County ranks

Where Dakota County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.

Dakota County outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs up 1.4% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 3.9% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 4.4%, up 0.9 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+4,544 jobs), hotels & food (+990 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: finance & insurance (−1,121 jobs), information (−1,100 jobs)

Learn and get funded in Dakota County

Dakota County layoffs

  • 1

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 0

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 1

    employer

Layoff notices filed in Dakota County, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
OneMain FinancialMendota Heights——State record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Dakota County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

  1. Post Consumer Brands14 open roles
  2. Thomson Reuters14 open roles
  3. CHS11 open roles
  4. Trystar10 open roles
  5. RTX6 open roles
  6. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota5 open roles
  7. Michael Page4 open roles
  8. Reyes Holdings4 open roles
  9. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota3 open roles
  10. Creative Financial Staffing3 open roles

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Dakota County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Minnesota? How to file for unemployment in Minnesota (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

  • CareerForce in Burnsville

    Burnsville · Comprehensive · 952-703-3100

    Monday -Friday 8:00am-4:30pm ( Closed 12 noon -1:00pm for lunch daily)

  • CareerForce in West Saint Paul

    West St. Paul · Affiliate · 651-554-5955

    Monday-Friday 8:30-4:00pm (Closed 12:00pm-1:00pm for lunch)

Cities in Dakota County

Other Minnesota counties

All of Minnesota

Laid off or looking for work in Dakota County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Minnesota’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Minnesota unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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