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St. Croix County’s August Unemployment Rate at 2.9%
On September 25th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary August 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 2.9%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in July was 3.0% and June’s final rate was 3.2%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 2.8%.
DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from July to August declined or remained the same in 61 of the 72 counties. The rates ranged from 2.5% in Dane to 13.4% in Menominee.
August’s 2019 preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same in 26 of Wisconsin’s 33 largest municipalities from July to August. Rates ranged from 2.4% in Fitchburg to 5.8% in Racine.
The five counties with the lowest unemployment rate in August include Dane and Iowa at 2.5%, Door and Sauk at 2.6%, and Green, Lafayette, Monroe, Sheboygan, and Vernon at 2.7%. Menominee County had the highest rate in August at 13.4%, followed by Iron (5.9%), Bayfield (4.9%), and Marinette and Ashland at 4.8%.
St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 2.9%, August’s preliminary rate in Pierce was also 2.9%, followed by Polk at 3.1% and Dunn at 3.3%.
St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The August 2019 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 2.9% which is lower than July’s final rate of 3.1% and June’s final rate of 3.3%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 2.5% in August 2018.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in August was estimated 3.1%, ending a streak of eighteen consecutive months the rate was at or below 3.0%. August’s rate is higher than July’s final rate of 3.0% and June’s final rate of 2.9%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.0%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in August was estimated at 3.3% which is lower than July’s final rate of 3.4% and is the same as June’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 August was estimated at 3.7%, which is the same as the final rates for July and June. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.9%.
Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for August was estimated at 67.2%, which is the same as the final rates for July and June. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 68.8%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in August was estimated at 63.2%, which is higher than July’s final rate of 63.0% and June’s final rate of 62.9%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.7%.
August’s estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision within the next few weeks.
