February 2023 Unemployment

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St. Croix County’s February 2023 Unemployment Rate is 3.8%

 

On March 29th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary February 2023 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 35 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s February rate was estimated at 3.8%, which is higher than January’s final rate of 3.3% and December’s final rate of 2.8%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.7%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from January to February increased or stayed the same in 31 of the 72 counties. Rates declined or stayed the same in 68 of the 72 counties year-over-year. The current rates range from 1.7% in Dane to 6.4% in Adams.

Preliminary unemployment rates from January to February decreased or stayed the same 23 of Wisconsin’s 35 largest cities. Year-over-year, the rates declined or stayed the same in 34 cities. Rates ranged from 1.6% in Madison to 4.0% in Superior.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in February include Dane (1.7%), Calumet (1.8%), Sheboygan (2.0%), Outagamie (2.1%), and Ozaukee (also at 2.1%). Adams had the highest rate in February at 6.4%, Burnett (6.0%), Iron (5.5%), Polk (5.3%), and Bayfield (5.2%).

St. Croix, Pierce, and Polk counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 3.8%, February’s preliminary rate in Pierce was 3.9% and Polk’s rate was 5.3%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The February 2023 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.2%, which is higher than January’s final rate of 2.9% and December’s final rate of 2.6%. The unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was 2.4% in February 2022.

Nearby Washington County in Minnesota reported a preliminary rate of 2.8% in February, while Dakota County, MN reported a rate of 3.0% and Chisago County, MN had a rate of 4.9%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in February was estimated at 2.7%, which is lower than January’s final rate of 2.9% and December’s final rate of 3.0%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 2.8%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota for February was estimated at 3.0%, which is higher than the final rate of 2.9% for both January and December. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 2.6%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for February was estimated at 3.6%, which is higher than January’s final rate of 3.4% and December’s final rate of 3.5%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.8%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for February was estimated at 64.5%, which is the same as January’s final rate but lower December’s final rate of 64.6%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 65.4%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in February was estimated at 62.5%, which is higher than January’s final rate of 62.4% and December’s final rate of 62.3%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.2%.

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

Recording – Thriving in a Multigenerational Organization

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Recording – Thriving in a Multigenerational Organization

If you missed “Thriving in a Multigenerational Organization” webinar on Tuesday March 28, 2023, or just want to watch it again, you can access the recording here. Please enter passcode H0LHNdp@ when prompted. It will be available until late May 2023.

Also, please find a downloadable handout that contains the content presented in during the webinar and a few points worth reinforcing:

  • Don’t compartmentalize—see people as individuals.
  • Don’t assume—talk to people and understand their lenses.
  • Customize and adjust—don’t assume that you know what people want…ask them. Ask your employees, customers, clients, etc.
  • Listen—rather than ask “Why?”, ask: “How so?”, “Tell me more.”, “Help me understand.”

Every person has a unique lens for how he/she/they view the world. You don’t need to agree with their lenses, you don’t need to accept their lenses, but in a workplace environment, you need to respect their lenses and respect the fact their lenses may be different from yours. And lastly, if we can find a way to work together and focus on similarities rather the differences and recognize that we all have something unique to bring to the table, we will maximum the success of our organizations.

Public Works Departments – The Miracle Workers

SCEDC BLOG

Public Works Departments – The Miracle Workers

BY BILL RUBIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Many know The Miracle Worker as an acclaimed three-act play that premiered on Broadway in October 1959. It’s based on the true story of Helen Keller, a blind and deaf girl from Alabama and Anne Sullivan, a Bostonian, who teaches her language. Anne, or Annie, is also blind. The Kellers spoiled an undisciplined Helen out of pity and hire Annie to teach her. Patty Duke played Helen and Anne Bancroft played Annie. The two later starred in the 1962 movie with the same title.

Fast forward to another spring in the Midwest. The freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw cycle has taken a toll on anything asphalt- or concrete-based. The cycle does not discriminate – highways, byways, one-ways, and alleys are fair game. The result? Behold, the nasty pothole, some seemingly deep enough to hold a compact car for ransom. Yep, spring is here and public works directors and street maintenance workers are challenged to do their best. Miracle workers, they are.

Today’s city engineers or public works directors may have names like Helen or Anne. Some carry the P.E. designation as a Professional Engineer, licensed by a state board of registration. Other pioneering ladies worked their way up the ranks to become public works directors without the P.E. designation. Less than 15 percent of all P.E.’s are female and less than nine percent are public works directors. The numbers for both are growing, thanks to STEM initiatives (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) at earlier ages. Come spring, P.E.’s, public works directors, and maintenance workers are united in their fight against pot holes. Miracle workers, they are.

Some communities and states battle pot holes with levity. Take Michigan and Detroit as examples. Their punchlines include:
-Dodging potholes in Michigan: A Michigan Sport
-Breaking Fake News: The Lost City of Atlantis found in a Detroit pothole
-Five Seasons in Michigan (Winter, Potholes, Spring, Summer, and Fall)
-Step-by-step guide to hitting a pothole:
1. Hit pothole
2. Death grip steering wheel
3. Squeeze eyes shut
4. Pray for your life
5. Open eyes carefully
6. Turn off music
7. Drive silently to destination

A report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers shows 43 percent of U.S. roads are in poor or mediocre condition. According to the society, the vast majority of roads in need of maintenance tend to be urban and rural collector roads, meaning low-to-moderate capacity routes which move vehicles from local streets to more major ones. Motorists spend nearly $130 billion annually on extra repairs to vehicles and operating costs due to deteriorating roads. Ouch! U.S. roadways have been underfunded for many years and the price tag to address the backlog is likely over one trillion dollars. The bulk of the backlog involves repairing existing roads, not building new ones.

Enacted in November 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $550 billion through fiscal year 2026 in new federal infrastructure investments, including roads, bridges, mass transit, water infrastructure, resilience, and broadband. Resilience? Resiliency and patience are at a premium. Hopefully Wisconsin’s St. Croix Valley will benefit from federal infrastructure funds.

Back to Helen and Anne, the P.E. and public works director. Street departments in 2023 face daunting tasks. They do more with less, sometimes patching potholes that were repaired days and weeks earlier. Wish them well. Miracle workers, they are.

 

January 2023 Unemployment at 3.3%

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St. Croix County’s January Unemployment Rate is 3.3%

On March 15th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary January 2023 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 35 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s January rate was estimated at 3.3%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 2.8% and November’s final rate of 2.6%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.5%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from December to January declined or stayed the same in only three of the 72 counties. Rates declined or stayed the same in 71 of the 72 counties year-over-year. The current rates range from 1.9% in both Calumet and Dane to 6.0% in Adams.

Preliminary unemployment rates from December to January rose in all of Wisconsin’s 35 largest cities. Year-over-year, the rates declined or stayed the same in 34 cities. Rates ranged from 1.8% in Madison to 3.7% in both Milwaukee and Racine.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in January include Calumet (1.9%), Dane (also at 1.9%), Ozaukee (2.1%), Sheboygan (also at 2.1%), and Washington (also at 2.1%). Adams had the highest rate in January at 6.0%, followed by Iron (5.4%), Burnett (5.3%), Forest (4.9%), and Bayfield (4.8%).

St. Croix, Pierce, and Polk counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 3.3%, January’s preliminary rate in Pierce was 3.3% and Polk’s rate was 4.5%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The January 2023 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 2.9%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 2.6% and November’s final rate of 1.9%. The unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was 3.0% in January 2022.

Nearby Washington County in Minnesota reported a preliminary rate of 2.6% for January, while Dakota County, MN reported a rate of 2.8% and Chisago County, MN had a rate of 4.5%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in January was estimated at 2.9%, which is lower than December’s final rate of 3.0% and November’s final rate of 3.3%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 2.8%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota for January was estimated at 2.9%, which is the same as the final rate for December and lower than November’s final rate of 3.0%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 2.8%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for January was estimated at 3.4%, which is lower than December’s final rate of 3.5% and November’s final rate of 3.6%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.0%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for January was estimated at 64.5%, which is lower than December’s final rate of 64.6% and November’s final rate of 64.9%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 65.4%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in January was estimated at 62.4%, which is higher than December’s final rate of 62.3% and November’s final rate of 62.2%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.2%.

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

Sign of Spring: Cookies

SCEDC BLOG

Sign of Spring: Cookies

BY BILL RUBIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

While the winter of 2022-23 marches on (and on), Girl Scout Cookie sales last a mere six weeks. Poof. It ends in April.

The annual sales are billed as local efforts – it’s the young lady from the neighborhood going door-to-door with a wagon or sled filled with goodies labeled Adventurefuls®, PB Patties/Tagalongs®, Lemon-Ups®, and Girl Scout Smores®. Careful eyes will note the trademarks as a way for the scouts to protect ideas, names, or symbols from knock-off competitors. The legal profession calls it IP for intellectual property. In short, the scouts own the brands they’ve worked so hard on and the trademark gives them protection just like the protection enjoyed by Big and Small Business.

While local, it’s global, too. The cookie program has become the world’s largest entrepreneurial program for girls. It teaches scouts important lifelong skills, including financial literacy, planning, budgeting, teamwork, critical thinking, and decision making. Add confidence to that list. Even with a mom or dad towing the inventory, it takes a whole lot of confidence to ring door bells and make a sales pitch. Sales professionals may tell a tired, down-and-out scout, “That last no means you’re one step closer to a yes.”

A couple years ago, a fast-talking economic development guy in Wisconsin’s St. Croix Valley promised a girl scout she’d earn a sale if she could recite the five P’s of a business plan. She looked to her mom for help. The fast talker gave them a hint, Product, Price, People, Place, and Promotion. Her mom jumped in, noting her daughter had cookies as the product; the price was $5 a box, the people consisted of a daughter-mother team, they were selling in a lobby as the place, and a double-sided sign served as their promotion. A sale was made and the tip jar got a George Washington, too. George was smiling.

Just like in real business, there’s no resting on laurels for the scouts. The Raspberry Rally® cookie is new for 2023. It’s offered exclusively online and includes direct shipping only. The roll-out was intended to enhance the scouts’ e-commerce sales and entrepreneurial skills. Are e-sales in 2023 the forerunner of a digital future for all cookie sales? Stay tuned. The so-called free market responded to the Raspberry Rally® in a big way. News outlets are reporting the limited edition treats are resold on eBay and other channels for up to $100 a box. Scouts aren’t happy. Call it the Cruelty of e-commerce 101.

Why support the cookie sales? Net profits from the sales stay local. Funded activities extend beyond summer camps. They include important service projects that vary from locale to locale. In a world short of big thinking entrepreneurs, the annual cookie sale effort pays big dividends. Really big dividends. Business Ethics. People Skills. Money Management. Decision Making. Goal Setting. Those foundational building blocks are listed on each cookie box.

Here’s to a cookie. When the doorbell rings or as a makeshift booth is sighted, consider stopping. Listen to their pitches. In the St. Croix Valley and elsewhere, the Girl Scout Mission is laser clear, “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.”