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On July 22nd, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary June 2020 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 34 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s June rate was estimated at 9.8%, which is lower than the final rate of 13.9% for May and April’s final rate of 16.1%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.4%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from May to June decreased in all of the 72 counties, but increased for all year-over-year. The rates ranged from 5.7% in Lafayette to 20.0% in Menominee.

Preliminary unemployment rates decreased in all of Wisconsin’s 34 largest municipalities from May to June and increased in all year-over-year. Rates ranged from 6.8% in Fitchburg to 12.8% in Milwaukee.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in June include Lafayette (5.7%), Clark (6.1%), Taylor (6.2%), Richland (6.3%), and Green (6.6%). Menominee County had the highest rate in June at 20.0%, followed by Forest (18.5%), Iron (14.2%), Jackson (13.2%), and Douglas (12.0%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 9.8%, June’s preliminary rate in Dunn is 7.9%, while Polk reported 8.6% and Pierce reported 10.1%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The June 2020 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 9.2%, lower than May’s final rate of 10.1% and the same as April’s final rate of 9.2%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.3% in June 2019.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in June was estimated at 8.5%, which is lower than May’s final rate of 12.1% and April’s final rate of 13.6%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.4%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in June was estimated at 8.6%, which is lower than May’s final rate of 9.9% and April’s final rate of 8.7%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 3.2%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for June was estimated at 11.1%, which is lower than May’s final rate of 13.3% and April’s final rate of 14.7%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.7%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for June was 65.7%, which is lower than May’s final rate of 66.6% and April’s final rate of 65.5%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 67.0%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in June was estimated at 61.5%, which is higher than May’s final rate of 60.8% and April’s final rate of 60.2%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 63.0%.

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