Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Ariana Lindquist/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Twin Cities are among a handful of Midwest metros that have fared much better economically than the rest of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The big picture: Our unemployment rate finished 2020 at 4.7%, well below the U.S. average of 6.7%.
- Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis round out the four metros with the lowest unemployment among the 51 largest markets, according to the Wall Street Journal.
What they're saying: Economists told the WSJ that cities with diverse economies and large numbers of white-collar workers are doing better because so many jobs were able to shift to remote work.
- "They also have less reliance on tourism compared with other large metro areas, relatively low population densities, and their overall COVID-19 caseloads haven’t been as severe," the WSJ wrote.
The bottom line: Minnesota lost 387,800 jobs in the first months of the pandemic and only regained 140,300 of them by the end of the year, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
This story first appeared in the Axios Twin Cities newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard.