Isanti County Unemployment Jump

Year-Month*** Unemployment Rate


2009-01 ***********12.4%
2008-12 ************9.6%
2008-11 ************7.7%
2008-10 ************6.3%
2008-09 ************6.5%
2008-08 ***********6.2%
2008-07 ***********5.9%


The recent rate of 12.4% from January is the highest rate this region has seen at least in modern history. The Minnesota DEED site goes back to 1990 and the worse before the last two months was 9.4% in January 1993.

The issues we face in this County are unprecedented and their affects will snowball through our community. The City of Isanti has taken the lead in foreclosure management, crime prevention, disciplined fiscal policy, cutting taxes, cutting spending and attracting new good paying jobs to our community.

These are good steps forward but as the ripples of the state and national economy meltdown continue to wash over us we need to be prepared for more difficult times ahead. I have been putting together several different budget models that we will be using to prepare our 2010 budget. We will continue to work through the issues we face and we are as prepared as we can be. I firmly believe if we stay disciplined and follow our plan the future will be brighter than any of us could imagine.