December 2021 Unemployment
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St. Croix County’s December Unemployment Rate at 1.9%
On January 26th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary December 2021 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 34 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s December rate was estimated at 1.9%, which is higher than the final rate of 1.6% for November and is the same as October’s final rate of 1.9%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.3%.
DWD said preliminary unemployment rates stayed the same from November to December in 12 of the 72 counties and increased in the remaining 60. Rates declined in all 72 counties year-over-year. The rates ranged from 1.3% in Lafayette to 4.3% in Menominee.
Preliminary unemployment rates from November to December declined or stayed the same in 26 of Wisconsin’s 34 largest cities and increased in the remaining eight. Year-over-year the rates declined in all 34 cities. Rates ranged from 1.2% in Madison to 3.3% in Milwaukee.
The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in December include Lafayette (1.3%), Calumet (1.4%), Dane (also at 1.4%), Fond du Lac (1.5%), and Grant (also at 1.5%). Menominee County had the highest rate in December at 4.3%, followed by Iron (4.1%), Forest (3.8%), Adams (also at 3.8%), and Bayfield (3.7%).
St. Croix, Pierce, and Polk counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 1.9%, December’s preliminary rate in Pierce was 2.1% and Polk’s rate was 2.8%.
St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The December 2021 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 2.5%, which is higher than November’s final rate of 2.2%, but lower than October’s final rate of 2.6%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 4.5% in December 2020.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in December was estimated at 2.8%, which is lower than November’s final rate of 3.0% and October’s final rate of 3.2%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 4.0%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in December was estimated at 3.1%, which is lower than November’s final rate of 3.3% and October’s final rate of 3.5%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 4.7%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for December was estimated at 3.9%, which is lower than November’s final rate of 4.2% and October’s final rate of 4.6%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 6.7%.
Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for December was estimated at 66.4% which is the same rate for both November and October. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 65.5%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in December was estimated at 61.9%, which is the same as the final rate for November and higher than October’s final rate of 61.6%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 61.5%.
December’s estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision within the next few weeks.



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