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On March 14th, 2018, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary January 2018 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 32 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s rate was estimated at 3.3%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate for December was 2.8% and November’s final rate was 2.5%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.0%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for January decreased in all 72 counties when compared to January 2017. Sixty-one (61) of the 72 counties tied or reached their lowest January unemployment rates on current record. The rates ranged from 2.2% in Dane County to 6.0% in Iron.

The January 2018 preliminary unemployment rates decreased in all of Wisconsin’s 32 municipalities with population bases of least 25,000 residents when compared to January 2017. Twenty (20) of the 32 largest municipalities reached their lowest January unemployment rates on current record. January’s rates ranged from 2.1% in Fitchburg and Madison to 4.3% in Racine.

Dane County had the lowest rate in January at 2.2% followed by Lafayette (2.4%), Ozaukee (also at 2.4%), Sheboygan (2.5%) and Washington (2.6%). Iron County had the highest rate in January at 6.0%, followed by Bayfield (5.6%), Adams (also at 5.6%), Burnett (5.3%), and Forest (4.8%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix referenced above, January’s preliminary rate in both St. Croix and Dunn was estimated at 3.3% followed by Pierce at 3.5% and 4.4% in Polk. The current rates in all four counties are lower than the rates for January 2017.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 16-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The January 2018 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.4%, which is higher than the final rate of 2.9% for December and November’s final rate of 2.4%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 4.2% in January 2017.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in January was estimated at 3.1%, which is lower than the final rate of 3.2% for both December and November. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.5%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in January 2018 was estimated at 3.3%, which is the same as December’s final rate, but higher than November’s final rate of 3.2%. Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted rate one year ago was 3.8%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for January was estimated at 4.1%, which is the same as the final rate for both December November. One year ago the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.8%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for January 2018 was estimated at 68.5%, which is lower than the final rate of 68.6% for December and November’s final rate of 68.9%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 68.1%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in January was estimated at 62.7%, which is the same as the final rates for December and November. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.9%.

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