ST. PAUL — The latest glimpse of Minnesota’s employment situation is on its way.

The state Department of Employment and Economic Development today planned to release unemployment and jobs data for May.

Minnesota’s jobless rate has been a couple of percentage points better than the national average. The state’s unemployment rate was a few ticks above 5 percent for April.

But that hasn’t translated into a surge in hiring. Minnesota actually shed jobs in April. Officials attributed it to a slow takeoff in seasonally sensitive sectors given a cold, wintry spring.