Minnsights Blog

The Minnesota Chamber released the 2022 Business Benchmarks report at the recent 2021 Economic Summit. Each year, the Minnesota Chamber releases this report to make sense of all of the rankings that are reported all of the time. Our goal through this report is to break down these rankings by economic category and bring to you the best, most reliable rankings. What factors go into determining Minnesota’s competitiveness in infrastructure or innovation? And it's important to learn about these topics from those who know them best: Minnesota business leaders. At the 2021 Economic Summit, a panel of business leaders spoke to many of the opportunities and challenges facing Minnesota companies. Panelists included: 

Employee recruitment and retention is top of mind for nearly every business. It's impossible to have a conversation with a business leader without talking about workforce. The current labor shortage estimated at 300,000 people in Minnesota brings forth a new set of challenges in how companies recruit and retain their workforce. Recently, the Chamber hosted a free webinar digging into the issues of recruitment and retention, as well as hearing more about some innovative benefits to help you secure top talent..

Minnesota’s economy – much like its people – is resilient. For more than a year and a half, businesses across the state have weathered the unpredictability of a worldwide pandemic, and the subsequent changes in demand, supply chains and government-imposed shutdowns. Yet here we are: a recovering economy offering more jobs than people to fill them, with businesses continuing to pivot and innovate, ushering in a new phase of prosperity for the future.

Innovation helps define Minnesota’s business legacy. In the last few years – and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – businesses operating in Minnesota have fueled that legacy in many areas, including health care.

It’s nearly impossible to have a conversation with a business leader without talking about workforce. Challenges have evolved but persisted over a decade, with employers in search of skilled workers to fill positions. While the long-term and systemic answers to these challenges will vary by industry and area of the state, there is one organization that proudly boasts, “We have the labor force you need,” and means it.