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On July 24th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary June 2019 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 33 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s rate was estimated at 3.2%. 2.5%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in May was 2.5% and April’s final rate was 2.9%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.3%

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for June declined or remained the same in 35 of the 72 counties. The rates ranged from 2.7% in Lafayette to 8.6% in Menominee.

June’s 2019 preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same year-over-year in 23 of Wisconsin’s 33 largest municipalities. Rates ranged from 2.8% in Fitchburg to 5.1% in Racine.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rate in June include Lafayette at (2.7%), Dane and Iowa (both at 2.9%), and Calumet, Green, and Sauk (all at 3.0%). Menominee County had the highest rate in June at 8.6%, followed by Iron (5.5%), Forest (4.8%), Burnett (4.7%), and Rusk (4.5%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 3.2%, June’s preliminary rates in Pierce and Polk were both estimated at 3.3% and Dunn’s rate was 3.7%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The June 2019 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.3%, which is higher than May’s final rate of 2.7% and April’s final rate of 2.9%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 2.8% in June 2018.

For the seventeenth consecutive month, the preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin was at or below 3.0%. For June, the rate was estimated at 2.9%, which is higher than the final rates of 2.8% for both May and April. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.1%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in June was estimated at 3.3%, which is the same as the final rate for both May and April. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 2.8%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for June was estimated at 3.7%, which is higher than the final rate of 3.6% for both May and April. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.0%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for June was estimated at 67.2%, which is lower than May’s final rate of 67.3% and April’s final rate of 67.5%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 68.9% (July 2018). The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in June was estimated at 62.9%, which is higher than the final rate of 62.8% for both May and April. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.9% (July 2018).

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