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Appendix E: Relevant News Articles (cont.) Copyright 2005 Star Tribune Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) April 24, 2005, Sunday, Metro Edition SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 1D LENGTH: 945 words HEADLINE: State lagging in job creation; The economy is OK in Minnesota, but it created just 1,000 jobs in the first quarter. BYLINE: Mike Meyers; Staff Writer BODY: In case no one has noticed, Minnesota no longer is above average. While businesses in the state have been posting good numbers so far this year, job growth -one of the past standout items of the Minnesota economy -has stayed lower than the national pace and recently has looked all but anemic. In a state with 2.7 million workers, only 1,000 net new jobs have been added to payrolls in the first three months of 2005, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. In the 1990s, Minnesota's economy generated an average of more than 13,000 jobs every three months. Jobs are only part of the story, albeit one that matters greatly to Minnesota's more than 148,000 unemployed. In other respects, the Minnesota economy appears to be performing well, with no signs of hitting the "soft patch" that some commentators have worried is beginning to bog down the national economy. Minnesota corporate profits are on the rise, state income and sales tax revenue are climbing, and manufacturing is making a comeback. But the state of the job market, where economists have the latest figures on how the Minnesota economy is performing, is sending the experts fumbling for adjectives to describe their concern. "That's troublesome, disturbing, bothersome," said Tom Stinson, Minnesota state economist. "It's been very lackluster so far," said Steve Hine, labor market research director for the economic development department. "We've seen very sluggish job growth." Call the reasons part of an unsolved mystery. Some Minnesota companies say that rising energy prices and soaring health insurance premiums have caused them to think twice about adding workers. "The culprit people are pointing at is energy prices. We're not immune from the ravages of $2.25 a gallon [gasoline]," Hine said. "That's certainly been a pretty strong headwind that's kept the state and national economy from growing rapidly in terms of jobs." For example, Northwest Airlines, a company struggling with rising fuel prices and low-fare rivals, recently announced plans to cut 900 mechanics from its workforce, suggesting that mass layoffs are not yet a