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On August 21st, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary July 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 3.0%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in June was 3.2% and May’s final rate was 2.5%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.0%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for July declined or remained the same in 52 of the 72 counties. The rates ranged from 2.6% in Dane to 10.2% in Menominee.

July’s 2019 preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same year-over-year in 25 of Wisconsin’s 33 largest municipalities. Rates ranged from 2.4% in Fitchburg to 5.6% in Racine.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rate in July include Dane at (2.6%), and Door, Iowa, Lafayette, and Sauk (all at 2.7%). Menominee County had the highest rate in July at 10.2%, followed by Iron (6.1%), Price (5.3%), Ashland (also at 5.3%), and Florence.

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 3.0%, July’s preliminary rates in Pierce and Polk were both estimated at 3.1% and Dunn’s rate was 3.4%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The July 2019 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.1%, which is lower than June’s final rate of 3.3%, but higher than May’s final rate of 2.7%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 2.6% in July 2018.

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

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in July was estimated at 3.4%, which is higher than the final rate of 3.3% for both June and May. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 2.8%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for July was estimated at 3.7%, which is the same as June’s final rate, but higher than May’s final rate of 3.6%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.9%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for July was estimated at 67.2%, which is the same as June’s final rate, but lower than May’s final rate of 67.3%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 67.8%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in July was estimated at 63.0%, which is higher than June’s final rate of 62.9% and May’s final rate of 62.8%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.9%.

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