Trending News

On July 25th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary June 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 3.2%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate for May was 2.4% and April’s final rate was 2.8%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.2%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for June declined or stayed the same in 70 of the 72 counties when compared to June 2017. Forty counties experienced or tied their lowest June rate on record. The rates ranged from 2.5% in Lafayette County to 6.3% in Menominee.

The June 2018 preliminary unemployment rates decreased or stayed the same in 28 of Wisconsin’s 32 municipalities with population bases of least 25,000 residents when compared to July 2017. Seventeen (17) of the 32 largest municipalities experienced their lowest June unemployment rate on record. Rates ranged from 2.7% in Fitchburg and Sun Prairie to 5.0% in Racine and Beloit.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rate in July include Lafayette (2.5%), followed by Iowa (2.7%), Taylor (also at 2.7%), Dane (2.8), and Sauk (also at 2.8%). Menominee County had the highest rate in June at 6.3%, followed by Iron (5.2%), Forest (5.0%), Ashland (4.6%), and Adams (also at 4.6%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix referenced above, June’s preliminary rate in Polk was estimated at 3.3% and both Dunn and Pierce were estimated at 3.5%. The current rates are lower in three of the four counties compared to the rates for June 2017. The rate for St. Croix is the same as one year ago.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 16-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The June 2018 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 2.8%, which is higher than May’s final rate of 2.3% and April’s final rate of 2.7%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.5% in June 2017.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for WI in June was estimated at 2.9%, which is higher than the final rate of 2.8% for May and April. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.3%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in June was estimated at 3.1%, which is the same as May’s final rate, but lower than April’s final rate of 3.2%. Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted rate one year ago was 3.4%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for June was estimated at 4.0%, which is higher than May’s final rate of 3.8% and April’s final rate of 3.9%. One year ago the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.3%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for June 2018 was estimated at 68.9%, which is the same as May’s final rate and higher April’s final rate of 68.7%. 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 May was estimated at 62.9%, which is higher than May’s final rate of 62.7% and April’s final rate of 62.8%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.8%.

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