In the most recent data from BLS, office-using employment in the Twin Cities increased by more than 10,000 jobs year-over-year. The unemployment rate remain at 4.0 percent

1. 0
300
1,000
1,700
1,700
4,000
5,300
6,100
8,600
10,900
-4,000 0 4,000 8,000 12,000 16,000
Information
Financial Activities
Mining and Logging
Government
Other Services
Trade, Transportation & Utilities
Manufacturing
Leisure & Hospitality
Professional & Business Services
Educational & Health Services
Number of Jobs
Office real estate implications
Officeemploymenttrends(12-monthchange) | Minneapolis – St. Paul
4.0%Minneapolis-St. Paul
unemployment
• In the most recent data from the BLS, the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA
added slightly more than 2,500 jobs and its unemployment rate remains
at 4.0 percent (the labor force grew by nearly 3,300). The Twin Cities
currently has the fifth lowest unemployment rate among U.S. metro areas
with at least one million residents.
• Despite a drop in employment levels year-to-date, as is typical during the
winter time months, office-using employment in the Twin Cities increased
by more than 10,000 jobs year-over-year in the most recent data from
BLS. The professional and business services sector led the way, adding
nearly 9,000 jobs year-over-year.
• Total U.S. nonfarm employment increased by 223,000 jobs in April, a
healthy uptick after a disappointing March where job gains totaled just
85,000. The strong April results will help lower concerns among
economists and Wall Street of a hiring slowdown.
• U.S. unemployment decreased 10 basis points to 5.4 percent, its lowest
mark since May 2008. Wages also continued to trend in the right
direction in April, increasing 2.2 percent year-over-year.
Job growth/loss by sector (12-month change) | Minneapolis – St. PaulOffice using employment is currently nearly 13,000 jobs shy of its all-time high
reached in November 2014. Still employment within the office using sectors
has increased by 1.5 percent year-over-year, with the professional and
business services sector leading the way. Unemployment remains at 4.0
percent, however based on historical trends, is likely to remain flat or
decrease during the spring and summer months.
The office markets in both the Minneapolis and St. Paul CBD’s have seen
strong activity of late. The Minneapolis CBD has attracted nearly 200,000
square feet of suburban tenants in new lease deals year-to-date, as
companies are increasingly attracted to the Minneapolis CBD based on a
desire to recruit and retain employees. While the St. Paul CBD isn’t attracting
major new tenants, some of its largest employers have recently completed or
announced deals that ensure their commitment to downtown St. Paul into the
future. This includes Green Tree Financial, which is relocating 800 employees
to 140,000 square feet at 180 E 5th Street, and Traveler’s pending sale of its
North Tower to Ecolab; both Travelers and Ecolab are consolidating their
downtown St. Paul offices.
Total jobs vs. Unemployment rate | Minneapolis - St. Paul
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
6.0%
7.0%
8.0%
9.0%
1,600,000
1,650,000
1,700,000
1,750,000
1,800,000
1,850,000
1,900,000
Peak:
1,867,718 jobs
2.5%
2.1%Minneapolis-St. Paul 12-month
job growth
5.4%U.S. unemployment
2.2%U.S. 12-month job growth
unemployment rate
total jobs
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, JLL Research
Office employment update
Minneapolis – St. Paul. May 2015

2. JLL Americas Research • Minneapolis – St. Paul Office Employment Update – May 2015 2
News on the street
Minneapolis – St. Paul businesses expanding, contracting, etc.
BioSig | Medical device manufacturing: Expanding
Medical-device company BioSig Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: BSGM) is moving its headquarters from Los Angeles to Golden Valley, where it plans to hire about a
dozen workers. BioSig picked the Minneapolis/St. Paul area largely because of its strong med-tech workforce, CEO Greg Cash said. The new headquarters address
is 8441 Wayzata Boulevard. BioSig plans to add workers across several categories, including sales and marketing, engineering and administration.
ECMC | Education nonprofit: Relocating
Education Credit Management Corp. (ECMC) will relocate from Oakdale to an office building in downtown Minneapolis, bringing its 500 employees along with it. The
education nonprofit signed a letter of intent to move into 122,000 square feet in the Ameriprise Client Service Center building at 901 Third Ave. S. The move is being
prompted by ECMC's desire to attract and retain workers, CEO Dave Hawn said. Hawn said ECMC anticipates doing quite a bit of hiring in its new location. ECMC
plans to move before February 2016. The new space will be on the 13th and 14th floors of the Ameriprise Client Service Center and "ebb and flow" between 500 and
600 employees for the next couple of years as the company's business changes.
Ecolab | Water and energy technologies: Relocating/consolidating
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) announced a deal in April to buy a building from Travelers in downtown St. Paul, where Ecolab plans to relocate its entire 1,500-person
downtown workforce. Terms of the sale haven't been disclosed. Ecolab expects to begin the move later this year, after the deal closes in the third quarter. Ecolab
today occupies three buildings on Wabasha Street: the 19-story Ecolab Corporate Center, which it leases through mid-2018; the 15-story Ecolab University Center,
which it leases through 2019; and the six-story Ecolab Global Communications Center, which it owns. Combined, the three buildings comprise more than 460,000
square feet.
Infinite Campus | Student data services provider: Expanding
One of Blaine’s largest employers plans to double its employee count and office space, potentially becoming the biggest employer with the tallest building in the
northern suburb. Infinite Campus is seeking permission to build an eight-story office building on its existing campus on the northeast quadrant of Lexington Avenue
and 109th Avenue Northeast. It currently has 400 workers on its campus, making an average salary of $81,000, with plans to add “well over” 400 in the expansion,
founder and CEO Charlie Kratsch said Thursday in an interview.
Travelers | Insurance: Relocating consolidating
Hartford, Conn.-based Travelers (NYSE: TRV) is selling the North Tower at 385 Washington St. to Ecolab. The insurance company will consolidate its 2,100 St. Paul
employees into an adjacent building it owns.
Walter Investment Management Corp. | Home loan financing: Relocating
The parent company of Green Tree Servicing plans to replant its 800 St. Paul employees in a newly leased Lowertown space. Walter Investment Management Corp.
(NYSE: WAC) signed a lease for 140,000 square feet at 180 East Fifth, the 13-story office building constructed at that address a century ago by railroad tycoon
James J. Hill. It will relocate about 600 employees from the Landmark Towers (345 St. Peter St.), where Green Tree has had offices since the mid-1980s. The other
200 St. Paul employees will move from Lawson Commons (380 St. Peter St.).
Employment statistics | Minneapolis – St. Paul Industry employment stratification | Minneapolis - St. Paul
Trade, transportation
and Utilities, 338,700,
18%
Educational and Health
Services, 315,700,
17%
Professional and
Business Services,
297,500, 16%
Government, 251,700,
13%
Manufacturing,
192,200, 10%
Leisure and Hospitality,
169,900, 9%
Financial Activities,
144,400, 8%
Other Services, 79,200,
4%
Mining, Logging and
construction, 61,100,
3%
Information, 39,300,
2%
Abel Balwierz
Senior Research Analyst
tel +1 612 217 5136
Abel.Balwierz@am.jll.com
45 South Seventh Street,
Suite 3051
Minneapolis MN 55402
www.jll.com/minneapolis© 2015 Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc. All rights reserved.
All information contained herein is from sources deemed
reliable; however, no representation or warranty is made
to the accuracy thereof.
March 2013 March 2014 March 2015
Total Non-farm
Employment
1,824,400
1.8%
1,850,100
1.4%
1,889,700
2.1%
Unemployment Rate 5.3% 4.8% 4.0%
Twin Cities Supersectors March 2013 March 2014 March 2015
Mining, Logging & Construction 55.3 5.7% 60.1 8.7% 61.1 1.7%
Manufacturing 184.3 1.3% 186.9 1.4% 192.2 2.8%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities 329.7 1.1% 334.7 1.5% 338.7 1.2%
Information 40.2 0.0% 39.3 -2.2% 39.3 0.0%
Financial Activities 143.9 1.0% 144.1 0.1% 144.4 0.2%
Professional & Business Services 287.2 2.0% 288.9 0.6% 297.5 3.0%
Educational & Health Services 297.9 2.9% 304.8 2.3% 315.7 3.6%
Leisure & Hospitality 161.7 2.1% 163.8 1.3% 169.9 3.7%
Other Services 78.2 0.8% 77.5 -0.9% 79.2 2.2%
Government 246.0 1.4% 250 1.6% 251.7 0.7%