As part of MPR News series “Stress-Testing the Recovery,” MPR’s Elizabeth Baier profiles Albert Lea, where the pain of the manufacturing slump is acute. The state's important manufacturing sector has lost nearly 43,000 jobs since the start of the recession -- more than any other major industry.

With a heavy reliance on factory jobs, Albert Lea's jobless rate reached 11.1 percent earlier this year. That was the highest it's been for this town in at least a decade. But unlike other hard-hit parts of the state, Albert Lea has no single, signature business that got hammered.

“Stress-Testing the Recovery” presents stories from areas of Minnesota where economic recovery means overcoming unemployment rates that have reached double digits.

Report is three in a four-part series.

Click links below for other parts of series:

part 1: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2009/11/02/stresstesting-the-recovery-hibbing-the-recovery-that-wasnt

part 2: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2009/11/03/stresstesting-the-recovery-bemidji-a-tale-of-two-economies

part 4: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2009/11/05/stresstesting-the-recovery-brainerd-when-is-a-recovery-a-recovery

Awarded:

2009 NBNA Eric Sevareid Award, first place in Series - Large Market Radio category

2010 MNSPJ Page One Award, third place in Radio - Mini-documentary/in-depth series category