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On March18th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary January 2020 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 34 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s January rate was estimated at 4.8%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in December was 3.6% and November’s final rate was 3.0%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.2%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from December to January increased in all 72 counties. The rates ranged from 2.8% in Lafayette to 7.9% in Menominee.

Preliminary unemployment rates increased in all of Wisconsin’s 33 largest municipalities from December to January. Rates ranged from 2.7% in Madison to 6.1% in Racine.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in January include Layfette (2.8%), Iowa (3.2%), Dane (3.4%), Green (also at 3.4%), and Calumet (also at 3.4%). Menominee County had the highest rate in January at 7.9%, followed by Iron (7.6%), Marinette (7.3%), Forest (7.2%), and Rusk (7.1%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 4.8%, January’s preliminary rate in Pierce was 4.9%, while Dunn was at 5.0% and Polk at 6.5%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The January 2020 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.3%, which is higher than the final rate of 3.0% in December and November’s final rate of 2.7%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.6% in January 2019.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in January was estimated at 3.5%, which is the same as the final rate of 3.3% for both December and November. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.1%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in January was estimated at 3.2%, which is the lower than the final rate of 3.3% for both December and November. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 3.2%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for January was estimated at 3.6%, which is higher than the final rate of 3.5% for both December and November. 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 66.9%, which is the same as December’s final rate 67.0% but lower than November’s final rate of 67.1%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 67.2%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in January was estimated at 63.4%, which is higher than the final rate of 63.2% for December and November. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 63.2%.

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