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St. Croix County’s May Unemployment Rate at 2.5%
On June 21st, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary May 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 2.5%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in April was 2.7% and the final rate in March was 3.7%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.5%.
DWD said preliminary unemployment rates for May decreased in all 72 counties when compared to May 2016, and decreased or remained the same in 68 of the 72 counties over the month (April 2017). The current rates ranged from 2.2% in Dane County to 5.3% in Iron.
The May 2017 preliminary unemployment rates decreased in all of Wisconsin’s 32 municipalities with population bases of least 25,000 residents when compared to May 2016 and decreased or remained the same in 26 of the 32 municipalities over the month (April 2017). The May rates ranged from 2.1% in Sun Prairie to 4.7% in Beloit.
Dane County had the lowest rate in May at 2.2%, followed by Lafayette (also at 2.2%), Fond du Lac (2.3%), Green (also at 2.3%), and Iowa (also at 2.3%). Iron County had the highest rate in May at 5.3%, followed by Menominee (5.1%), Forest (4.0%), Bayfield (also at 4.0%), and Burnett (3.9%).
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 May 2017 in both Dunn and Polk counties was estimated at 2.8%. Pierce’s rate in May was estimated at 2.9%. The current rates in all four counties are lower compared to May 2016.
St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 16-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The May 2017 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.2%, which is lower than April’s final rate of 3.3% as well as the final rate of 3.8% in March. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 3.1% in May 2016.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in May was estimated at 3.1%, which is lower than April’s final rate of 3.2% and the final rate of 3.4% in March. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 4.1%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in May 2017 was estimated at 3.7%, which is lower than April’s final rate of 3.8% and the final rate 4.0% in March. Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted rate one year ago was 3.9%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for May was estimated at 4.3%, which is lower than the final rate of 4.4% for April and the final rate of 4.5% in March. One year ago the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 4.7%.
Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for May 2017 was estimated at 68.8%, which is higher than the final rate of 68.6% in April as well as the final rate of 68.4% in March. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 68.7%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in May was estimated at 62.7%, which is lower than the final rate of 62.9% in April as well as the final rate of 63.0% in March. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.6%.
