The Minnesota unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent in January, according to seasonally adjusted figures released Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The U.S. unemployment rate in January was 5.7 percent, but slipped to 5.5 percent in February.

State employers eliminated 7,900 jobs during the month. Over the past year, the state has gained 36,124 jobs, a 1.3 percent growth rate. The U.S. job growth rate during that period was 2.4 percent.

Professional and business services led all sectors in January with 2,200 new jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities lost the most jobs (down 6,000).

Over the past year, education and health services has added the most jobs - 8,581. Only three sectors lost jobs, led by a 918-loss in government jobs.

Among Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Mankato has led the way in gained jobs for the past 12 months (up 2.1 percent), followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA (up 1.7 percent), St. Cloud MSA (up 1.4 percent), Rochester MSA (up 1 percent) and Duluth-Superior MSA (up 0.1 percent).

Revised figures indicate that as of December 2014, the state gained 210,200 jobs since the low point of the recession in September 2009, instead of the original estimate of 222,900 jobs.