Trending News

On July 26th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary June 2017 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 3.0%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in May was 2.5% and the final rate in April was 2.7%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.0%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for June decreased in all 72 counties when compared to June 2016. The current rates ranged from 2.6% in Dane and Lafayette counties to 6.5% in Menominee.

The June 2017 preliminary unemployment rates decreased in all of Wisconsin’s 32 municipalities with population bases of least 25,000 residents when compared to June 2016. The June rates ranged from 2.7% in Fitchburg, Madison, and Sun Prairie to 5.2% in Beloit.

Dane and Lafayette counties had the lowest rate in June at 2.6%, followed by Green (2.8%), Iowa (also at 2.8%), and Calumet (2.9%). Menominee County had the highest rate in June at 6.5%, followed by Iron (6.0%), Forest (5.3%), Florence (4.8%), and Douglas (4.7%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix referenced above, the preliminary rate for June 2017 in Polk was estimated at 3.2%. Pierce’s rate in June was estimated at 3.4% and Dunn’s rate was 3.5%. The current rates in all four counties are lower compared to June 2016.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 16-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The June 2017 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.5%, which is higher than May’s final rate of 3.2% and April’s final rate of 3.3%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.7% in June 2016.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in June was estimated at 3.1%, which is the same as the final rate in May, but lower than April’s final rate of 3.2%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 4.2%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in June 2017 was estimated at 3.7%, which is the same as the final rate for May, but lower than April’s final rate of 3.8%. Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted rate one year ago was 3.9%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for June was estimated at 4.4%, which is higher than May’s final rate of 4.3% and the same as April’s final. One year ago the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.9%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for June 2017 was estimated at 68.9%, which is higher than the final rate of 68.8% in May and the final rate of 68.6% in April. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 68.5%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in June was estimated at 62.8%, which is higher than the final rate of 62.7% in May, but lower than April’s final rate of 62.9%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.7%.

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