November 2021 Unemployment
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St. Croix County’s November Unemployment Rate at 1.6%
On December 22nd, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary November 2021 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 34 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s November rate was estimated at 1.6%, which is lower than October’s final rate of 1.9% and September’s final rate of 2.3%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.0%.
DWD said preliminary unemployment rates declined from October to November in all 72 counties and declined in all counties year-over-year. Sixty-one counties experienced record low unemployment for the month. The rates ranged from 1.2% in Lafayette to 4.1% in Menominee.
Preliminary unemployment rates declined from October to November in all of Wisconsin’s 34 largest cities and declined in all of the largest cities year-over-year. Rates ranged from 1.4% in Madison to 3.3% in Milwaukee.
The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in November include Lafayette (1.2%), Calumet (1.4%), Dane (also at 1.4%), Green (also at 1.4%), and Kewaunee (also at 1.4%). Menominee County had the highest rate in November at 4.1%, followed by Forest (3.2%), Iron (3.1%), Bayfield (3.0%), and Adams (also at 3.0%).
St. Croix, Pierce, and Polk counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 1.6%, November’s preliminary rate in Pierce was 1.7% and Polk’s rate was 2.0%.
St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The November 2021 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 2.2%, which is lower than October’s final rate of 2.6% and September’s final rate of 2.9%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 4.0% in November 2020.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in November was estimated at 3.0%, which is lower than October’s final rate of 3.2% and September’s final rate of 3.4%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 4.4%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in November was estimated at 3.3%, which is lower than the final rate of 3.5% for October and September’s final rate of 3.7%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 5.0%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for November was estimated at 4.2%, which is less than the final rate of 4.6% for October and September’s final rate of 4.8%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 6.7%.
Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for November was estimated at 66.4%, which is the same as the final rate in October but lower than September’s final rate of 66.5% for September. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was also 65.5%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in November was estimated at 61.8%, which is higher than the final rate of 61.6% for October and September. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was also 61.5%.
November’s estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision within the next few weeks.



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