November 2017 Unemployment Rate

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St. Croix County’s November Unemployment Rate at 2.5%

On December 27th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary November 2017 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 32 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s rate was estimated at 2.5%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in October was also 2.5% and September’s final rate was 2.6%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.4%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for November decreased in all 72 counties when compared to November 2016 and decreased or remained the same in 52 of the 72 counties when compared to October 2017. The current rates ranged from 2.0% in Dane, Green and Lafayette counties to 5.3% in Iron.

The November 2017 preliminary unemployment rates decreased in all of Wisconsin’s 32 municipalities with population bases of least 25,000 residents when compared to November 2016 and decreased or remained the same in all 32 when compared to October 2017. November’s rates ranged from 1.9% in Fitchburg to 4.1% in Racine.

Dane, Green, and Lafayette counties had the lowest rate in November at 2.0% followed by Trempealeau (2.1%) and Clark (2.3%). Iron County had the highest rate in November at 5.3%, followed by Menominee (4.4%), Bayfield (also at 4.4%), Adams (4.2%), and Sawyer (4.1%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix referenced above, the preliminary rate for November 2017 in Dunn was estimated at 2.4%, followed by 2.6% in Pierce and 2.9% in Polk. The current rates in all four counties are lower or the same compared to last month (October 2017) and one year ago (November 2016).

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 16-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The November 2017 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 2.4%, which is the same as October’s final rate, but lower than September’s final rate of 2.8%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.2% in November 2016.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in November was estimated at 3.2%, which is lower than October’s final rate of 3.4% and September’s final rate of 3.5%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 4.1%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in November 2017 was estimated at 3.1%, which is lower than October’s final rate of 3.4% and September’s final rate of 3.7%. Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted rate one year ago was 4.0%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for November was estimated at 4.1%, which is the same as the final rates for October, but lower than September’s final rate of 4.2%. One year ago the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.6%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for November 2017 was estimated at 68.9%, which is higher than final rates of 68.8% for both October and September. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 68.4%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in November was estimated at 62.7%, which is the same as October’s final rate, but lower than September’s final rate of 63.1%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.6%.

November’s estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision within the next few weeks.

November 2017 Unemployment Table
November 2017 Unemployment Comparison
November 2017 Participation Rate

For the Sake of Old Times

SCEDC BLOG

For the Sake of Old Times

BY BILL RUBIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

A Scotsman named Robert Burns is credited with authoring a poem in the 1780s that many still use to bid farewell to an old year as a new one is welcomed. The poem (now folk song) is called Auld Lang Syne. With cocktail glasses and beer mugs hoisted high, more than one person may have tripped over the words in a moment of revelry. As they say back home, “If you don’t know the words, hum along.” In some occupations and locales, namely executive directors who grew up in southern Minnesota, humming leads to sniffling, and then crocodile tears.

All good stuff, but what does Auld Lang Syne mean? Google and Wiki say the translation to English results in ‘Old Long Ago’ making the poem about love and friendship in times gone by. And what about the cup of kindness found in the chorus? Well, it’s a longstanding tradition to raise a glass in friendship, health, or to a deed well done.

From that explanation, Auld Lang Syne makes much more sense, and we are left with this:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne!

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne.

We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

(Humming and Sniffling) For the sake of old times, farewell 2017.

Happy New Year.

Cracking the Code

SCEDC BLOG

Cracking the Code

BY BILL RUBIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

An occasional stop on the LinkedIn website sometimes yields kernels of truth.

Young adults, say 15-years of age and older, are a curious group. Some fail to see big opportunities ahead, especially given the shrinking workforce. Opportunities are abundant. Mark Twain may have framed it best when he wrote, “Youth is wasted on the young.” There are exceptions to this, and over-achievers earn their place in a special category.

In the event the younger generation subscribes to an urban legend about shortcuts to success, the “code” has been cracked. The “code” is borrowed from several LinkedIn colleagues. Explanations in parenthesis are intended to help the younger generation clarify the intended meaning.

Ten Things That Require Zero Talent
Be on Time
Good Work Ethic
Good Body Language
Energy (High not Low)
Attitude (a Good One)
Passion (Beyond Electronic Devices)
Be Coachable
Doing Extra
Be Prepared
Smile

Young adults, take it from here.

Legislative Day Feb 13, 2018

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Legislative Day, February 13, 2018

The economic development corporations (EDCs) and chambers of commerce from St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties will travel to Madison on Tuesday, February 13, 2018 to promote legislative priorities for the Greater St. Croix Valley. Attendees from business, industry, local government, and private citizens are invited to participate. The annual event is free to anyone willing to travel to and from Madison for meetings with legislators, aides, committee chairs, cabinet secretaries, and policy advisors. To register, click here.

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise the Greater St. Croix Valley. Given the four hour plus distance to Madison, organizers of the legislative day believe it is imperative that their voices be heard on issues tied to economic development, transportation, secondary education, workforce, and tourism-recreation.

Rob Kreibich, executive director of the New Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce, is the 2018 chair of legislative day. Kreibich served in the Wisconsin Assembly from 1993-2007 and understands the legislative process very well.

A preliminary agenda has the Greater St. Croix Valley group arriving in Madison by 10:30 a.m. for an orientation on the 2018 issues during a box lunch. Appointments with legislators run throughout the afternoon. The event ends around 4:30 p.m. and participants depart for home. Vans have been reserved for the day to offset travel expenses.

To register, click here. For additional information or RSVP participation, please contact St. Croix EDC at (715) 381-4383 or email Nita Dusek at nita@stcroixedc.com.

The Wiz

SCEDC BLOG

The Wiz

BY BILL RUBIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

A guy around the St. Croix Valley sports a zip-up UCLA sweatshirt, or hoodie, if you’re part of the younger generation. He claims it belonged to Bill Walton, a former UCLA player who measured six feet, eleven inches during his basketball days. Given their size difference, Mr. Walton must have worn the hoodie in middle school. The local UCLA imposter says he wears it in homage to a guy named John Wooden.

Mr. Wooden was a legendary basketball coach at UCLA from 1949-75. He guided the Bruins to ten national championships over a twelve-year period, including seven straight (1966-67 season to 1972-73). He earned a nickname, Wizard of Westwood, from the Westwood neighborhood near ULCA’s campus in Los Angles.

Wooden is also known for short, common sense messages to players he later transformed into his Pyramid of Success. The messages had as much application off the basketball court as they did on it. Wooden adapted his Pyramid to the corporate world, and when he left coaching, he was in high demand as a business speaker.

Like any pyramid, Wooden’s starts with a strong foundation. He used industriousness, friendship, cooperation, loyalty, and enthusiasm as his base. No truer building blocks were ever fabricated. Faith and patience run up and down the pyramid. The top of Wooden’s pyramid is what he called competitive greatness – “having a real love for the hard battle knowing it offers the opportunity to be at your best when your best is required.” Successful business owners need not be great athletes to appreciate that quip.

Wooden found greatness in coaching basketball, but his Pyramid of Success endures with even greater lessons. Mr. Wooden passed in 2010, but there’s still a website at coachwooden.dot where more can be learned.

Coach Wooden, still the Wiz.