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On January 27th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary December 2020 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 5.5%, which is higher than the final rate of 4.3% for November and October’s final rate of 4.7%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.6%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from November to December increased in all 72 counties as well as year-over-over. The rates ranged from 3.4% in Lafayette to 11.1% in Menominee. 

Preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same in three of Wisconsin’s 34 largest municipalities from November to December. Rates ranged from 3.8% in Fitchburg to 8.3% in Milwaukee.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in December include Lafayette (3.4%), Calumet (3.7%), Grant (3.9%), Kewaunee (also at 3.9%), and Dane (4.0%). Menominee County had the highest rate in December at 11.1%, followed by Iron (10.0%), Adams (9.4%), Forest (8.9%), and Bayfield (also at 8.9%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 5.5%, December’s preliminary rate in Dunn is 5.1%, while Pierce reported 5.2% and Polk came in at 7.3%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The December 2020 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 4.5%, which is higher than November’s final rate of 4.0% and October’s final rate of 4.2 %. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.0% in December 2019.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in December was estimated at 5.5%, which is higher than November’s final rate of 5.3% but lower than October’s final rate of 6.0%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.5%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in December was estimated at 4.4%, which is lower than November’s final rate of 4.5% and October’s final rate 4.6%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 3.3%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for December was estimated at 6.7%, which is the same as November’s final rate but lower than October’s final rate of 6.9%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.5%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for December was 66.7%, which is lower than November’s final rate of 66.8% and October’s final rate of 67.4%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was also 66.9%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in December was estimated at 61.5% which is that same as November’s final rate, but lower than October’s final rate of 61.7%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 63.2%. 

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