October 2019 Unemployment
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St. Croix County’s October Unemployment Rate at 2.6%
On November 20th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary October 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 2.6%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in September was 2.7% and August’s final rate was 2.9%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 2.3%.
DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from September to October declined or remained the same in 68 of the 72 counties. The rates ranged from 2.0% in Lafayette to 6.6% in Menominee.
Preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same in 32 of Wisconsin’s 33 largest municipalities from September to October. Rates ranged from 2.1% in Madison to 4.5% in Racine.
The five counties with the lowest unemployment rate in October include Lafayette (2.0%), Dane (2.1%), Iowa (also at 2.1%), Green (2.2%), and Calumet (2.3%). Menominee County had the highest rate in October at 6.6%, followed by Iron (4.6%), Price (4.5%), Marinette (3.8%), and Rusk (3.7%).
St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 2.6%, October’s preliminary rate in Pierce was 2.4%, while Dunn was at 2.5% and Polk at 2.7%.
St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The October 2019 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 2.5%, which is the same as the final rate for September but lower than August’s final rate of 2.9%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 2.1% in October 2018.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in October was estimated at 3.3%, which is higher than September’s final rate of 3.2% and August’s final rate of 3.1%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.0%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in October was estimated at 3.2 %, which is the same as September’s final rate, but lower than August’s final rate of 3.3%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 2.8%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for October was estimated at 3.6%, which is higher than September’s final rate of 3.5% but lower than August’s final rate of 3.7%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.7%
Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for October was estimated at 67.1%, which is lower than the final rate of 67.2% for both September and August. 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 October was estimated at 63.3%, which is higher than the final rate of 63.2% for both September and August. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.9%.
October’s estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision within the next few weeks.



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