The St. Paul Port Authority board pushed for $1 million in state aid to seal the deal.

A shrinking labor force dragged the unemployment rate to 3.8 percent.

Minnesota construction companies shed 200 jobs from the month before, while the state’s employers, overall, added 7,300 jobs, according to seasonally adjusted data released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Catching up with former DFL Rep. Joe Radinovich and former Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reported Thursday that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 4 percent. It’s the first highest since May 2014 and a tick above the 3.9 percent for June.

The job additions extend the growth in the construction sector that traces back to April.

If the delay dampens awareness, Minnesota’s program risks flaming out like similar efforts in other states.

It has been a decade or more since many outstate cities and towns have seen a new apartment building with units accessible to local workers.

Most of the $6.1 million in remaining credits – $4.4 million – were in the first-of-its-kind pool for underserved groups that are historically shut out from the program.

The change came as the labor force participation rate – or the proportion of Minnesotans working or looking for jobs – continued to grow, hitting 70.8 percent in May.