February 2019 Unemployment Rate at 3.8%

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St. Croix County’s February Unemployment Rate at 3.8%

On March 13th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary January 2019 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 4.0%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate for December was 2.8% and November’s final rate was 2.6%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.6%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for January declined or remained the same in 18 of the 72 counties when compared to January 2018. The rates ranged from 2.4% in Dane County to 6.8% in Adams.

The January 2019 preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same in 19 of Wisconsin’s 32 largest municipalities. Rates ranged from 2.3% in Madison to 4.3% in Beloit.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rate in January include Dane (2.4%), Ozaukee (2.7%), Sheboygan (also at 2.7%), Calumet (2.8%), and Winnebago (also at 2.8%). Adams County had the highest rate in January at 6.8%, followed by Burnett (6.7 %), Bayfield (6.6%), Forest (6.3%), and Iron (5.8%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 4.0%, January’s preliminary rate in Dunn was estimated at 4.1%, followed by Pierce also at 4.1% and Polk at 5.7%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 16-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The January 2019 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.6%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 2.8% and November’s final rate of 2.0%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.4% in January 2018.

For the twelfth consecutive month, the preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin was at or below 3.0%. For January, the rate was estimated at 3.0%, which is the same as the final rates for both December and November. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 2.9%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in January was estimated at 3.0%, which is higher than the final rate of 2.9% for both December and November. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 3.1%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for January was estimated at 4.0%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 3.0% but lower than November’s final rate of 4.1%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.1%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for January was estimated at 67.6%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 67.5% but lower than November’s final rate of 68.4%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 68.5%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in January was estimated at 63.2%, which is higher than the final rate of 63.1% in December and 62.9% for November. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.7%.

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

Employers Face Workforce Challenges Head-on

SCEDC BLOG

Employers Face Workforce Challenges Head-On

BY BILL RUBIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

It seems ‘Help Wanted’ signs have replaced ‘Garage Sale’ signs as the least popular among community beautification advocates. Street right-of-ways are littered with ‘Apply Today’ and ‘Top Pay for Second Shift’ messages. Compare those to a real attention-getter and perhaps best garage sale sign from a couple years back, ‘Huge Baby Sale This Weekend.’ The curiosity factor alone was enough to stop for that sale.

The facts are clear. More people are working today than ever. Meanwhile, job openings continue to grow and usually go unfilled. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a number person’s favorite bureau, reported in mid-March on 7.6 million job vacancies for January. For comparison, December’s vacancies came in at 7.34 million, at the time, a record number. The difference in those two estimates yields a big city. A previous estimate from Labor said 6.5 million Americans qualified as unemployed. A big city just morphed into a major metro area.

The Bureau of Labor also measures something called workforce participation. It is expressed as a percentage of people, say, 16-years old through retirement age, who are working, or at least actively seeking employment, compared to the entire pool of 16- to mid-60 year olds. Wisconsin is considered among the top states in workforce participation, yet the measure is around 68-67 percent. The U.S. rate lags behind at around 63 percent. Imagine the impact if the needle ticked up one- to two-tenths of a percent!

Are there solutions? A foundation operated by Wisconsin’s largest business organization, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, recently released a report on the state’s workforce challenges. Several recommendations were offered, including: attract and retain talent; upskill existing workers; improve career pathways; promote apprenticeships and other work-based learning for students; promote career awareness; and reach disconnected groups.

For go-getters coming out of high schools, technical colleges and universities, and even military service, opportunities are abundant. These may be the best of times. For certain, employers from business and industry are happy to connect. A bonus may come with a job offer. Higher wages, salaries and benefits have counteracted the tight labor market.

In the match-making game of employment, here’s to happy endings among jobseekers and employers.

EDC Creates Resource Guide for Employers and Jobseekers

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EDC Creates Resource Guide for Employers and Jobseekers

St. Croix EDC’s workforce committee recently created a workforce guide for St. Croix Valley employers and jobseekers. It is available in a printed format or an electronic version here.

In late 2018 the EDC created a workforce committee in recognition of the challenges faced by area employers in recruiting and retaining workers across the continuum, from entry level to executives. Through retirement and attrition, more people are leaving the workforce than are entering it. In addition, there did not appear to be a one-stop resource document for jobseekers looking for either their first full-time job or advancement.

The EDC guide highlights numerous public-private resources as solutions to filling job vacancies or securing employment. A short descriptor of each resource and web links is included in the guide.

The guide has been distributed to local chambers of commerce, who are integral partners of the EDC.

An electronic version is available to download here. To request a printed copy, contact the EDC office at (175) 381-4383 or nita@stcroixedc.com.

Girl Scout Cookies and the Five P’s

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Girl Scout Cookies and the Five P’s

BY BILL RUBIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Thin Mint. Peanut Butter Do-si-Dos. Shortbread Trefoils. Samoas.

Just like the first backyard robin, Girl Scout cookie sales are another sign that Old Man Winter is on his way out and Spring is near. Hopefully. St. Croix County’s economic development spin-master has proclaimed his disdain for the Winter of 2018-19 on numerous occasions. The bottom of the driveway is a prime location for his muttering. He has been waiting for a long-overdue robin as well as the first sleeve of shortbread treats.

From humble beginnings, Girl Scout cookie sales officially go back to 1917. They were launched in home kitchens of troop members. Moms served as advisers for the experimenting girls. Five years earlier, a troop in Oklahoma made cookies and sold them at the high school as a service project. This success led to sanctioned cookie sales across the county and globe. Shortages of sugar, flour and butter in World War II interrupted cookie sales. Non-edible calendars replaced cookies as the fund raiser for a while.

The economic development guy thought he’d been shut out of cookies for 2019. Door-to-door sales yielded to tables in convenience stores or big box retailers. For the trained observer, the free market system was definitely in play as make-shift booths were set-up in key parking lots. If a community could be over-saturated with coffee shops, would the same community or neighborhood support 4-5-6 cookie booths? Welcome to the free market, ladies.

On a recent Saturday, the fast-talking economic developer walked into a retail shop. A young Girl Scout and her mom had staked their claim. It was not an ideal location. It looked like they could use some business. A promise was made. If the Girl Scout could recite the Five P’s of a marketing plan, she’d get a sale. Hmm. The Five P’s? The fast-talker helped her out: Product, Price, People, Place, and Promotion. Her mom jumped in, noting her daughter had cookies as the product; the price was $5 a box, the people consisted of a mother-daughter team, they were selling in the lobby, and a double-sided sign served as their promotion.

After the $10 transaction, the mom said, “I think we learned something about those Five P’s today.” Indeed, Girl Scout cookie sales build life skills and sales help fund troop activities. The fast-talker got his shortbread and peanut butter treats. And he got more out of the conversation than the Girl Scout and her mom.

Here’s to a life lesson.

The Right Stuff

SCEDC BLOG

The Right Stuff

BY BILL RUBIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Tom Wolfe penned a book in the late 1970’s entitled, ‘The Right Stuff’ about American test pilots who were part of the early research efforts leading to NASA’s space program. The pilots flew experimental rocket-powered aircraft. Some returned to Mother Earth safely; others did not. Those who did were said to have the right stuff, meaning they possessed certain character traits, excluding luck, to succeed and thrive. Even with the right stuff, perhaps the best of all test pilots, Chuck Yeager, was not selected as an astronaut. The right stuff proved elusive for him.

The U.S. was well behind the Soviets in the 1960s space race. NASA went on to develop its first manned space program called Project Mercury. The first seven test pilots with the right stuff were called the Mercury Seven, namely Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.

In business, the right stuff is measured every day, every week, every month, every quarter, and every year. Launching a business and running it successfully is not for meek or timid. Neither is defying gravity. Gotta have the right stuff. And maybe a little luck, just like the 60s test pilots who could sense the upper limits of engineering and propulsion as the envelope was pushed.

Attendees at the recent St. Croix EDC’s Business of the Year awards dinner were treated to the business version of the right stuff. Three companies were honored and each award recipient spoke in frank terms of obstacles and achievements and just shoulder-to-the-wheel hard work that brought them into the spotlight for the evening. All three confessed they were not public speakers. That comment did not fool the audience. Their comments came straight from their hearts and included motivational take-aways.

State Senator Patty Schachtner summed it up best with three terms to describe each of the honorees – resiliency, community building, and vision. Add those descriptors to the character traits of test pilots and the resolve of business owners.

It’s still the right stuff.

January 2019 Unemployment

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St. Croix County’s January Unemployment Rate at 4.0%

On March 13th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary January 2019 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 4.0%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate for December was 2.8% and November’s final rate was 2.6%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.6%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for January declined or remained the same in 18 of the 72 counties when compared to January 2018. The rates ranged from 2.4% in Dane County to 6.8% in Adams.

The January 2019 preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same in 19 of Wisconsin’s 32 largest municipalities. Rates ranged from 2.3% in Madison to 4.3% in Beloit.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rate in January include Dane (2.4%), Ozaukee (2.7%), Sheboygan (also at 2.7%), Calumet (2.8%), and Winnebago (also at 2.8%). Adams County had the highest rate in January at 6.8%, followed by Burnett (6.7 %), Bayfield (6.6%), Forest (6.3%), and Iron (5.8%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 4.0%, January’s preliminary rate in Dunn was estimated at 4.1%, followed by Pierce also at 4.1% and Polk at 5.7%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 16-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The January 2019 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.6%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 2.8% and November’s final rate of 2.0%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.4% in January 2018.

For the twelfth consecutive month, the preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin was at or below 3.0%. For January, the rate was estimated at 3.0%, which is the same as the final rates for both December and November. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 2.9%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in January was estimated at 3.0%, which is higher than the final rate of 2.9% for both December and November. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 3.1%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for January was estimated at 4.0%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 3.0% but lower than November’s final rate of 4.1%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.1%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for January was estimated at 67.6%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 67.5% but lower than November’s final rate of 68.4%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 68.5%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in January was estimated at 63.2%, which is higher than the final rate of 63.1% in December and 62.9% for November. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.7%.

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

Workforce Development Survey

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St. Croix EDC Seeks Input with Workforce Development Survey

St. Croix Economic Development Corporation (EDC) announces a new effort to address workforce issues and challenges faced by employers in the St. Croix Valley. Workforce attraction and retention are top issues for employers. Through retirement and attrition, more people are leaving the workforce than are entering it. In response, St. Croix EDC, in conjunction with UW-Extension and Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College-New Richmond, is conducting a confidential on-line survey of St. Croix Valley employers to build a better understanding of workforce challenges and identify effective ways to address them.

The survey is aimed at all area employers, large or small, and across all business sectors – manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, service, and retail, etc. The survey will take approximately three (3) minutes to complete and can be accessed here. The survey will remain open to participants until March 27, 2019.

St. Croix EDC will partner with local chambers of commerce to encourage broader participation from their respective members.

St. Croix EDC envisions common themes to emerge from the survey, giving area employers better insights into workforce issues and challenges, and more options for workforce solutions.

Click here to access the survey – http://app.surveymethods.com/EndUser.aspx?B99DF1E9B0FCEDE8BC

About St. Croix EDC
St. Croix EDC was formed in 1993 to promote business growth in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. Reflective activities include marketing and communications, business retention, expansion, recruitment, new start-ups, advocacy, and workforce development.

For questions or comments, contact William Rubin, EDC executive director at (715) 381-4383 or bill@stcroixedc.com.