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On December 27th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary November 2019 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 33 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s November rate was estimated at 3.0%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in October was 2.6% and September’s final rate was 2.7%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 2.5%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from October to November remained the same in 8 of the 72 counties. The rates ranged from 2.0% in Lafayette to 7.3% in Menominee.

Preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same in 13 of Wisconsin’s 33 largest municipalities from October to November. Rates ranged from 2.1% in Madison to 4.6% in Racine.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in November include Lafayette (2.0%), Dane (2.1%), Iowa (2.2%), La Crosse (2.3%), and Green (2.4%). Menominee County had the highest rate in November at 7.3%, followed by Iron (5.6%), Florence (5.2%), Bayfield (4.9%), and Price (4.7%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 3.0%, November’s preliminary rate in Dunn was 2.7%, while Pierce was at 2.9% and Polk at 3.5%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The November 2019 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 2.7%, which is higher than the final rate of 2.5% for both October and September. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 2.0% in November 2018.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in November was estimated at 3.3%, which is the same as October’s final rate, but higher than September’s final rate of 3.2%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.0%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in November was estimated at 3.3%, which is higher than the final rate of 3.2 % for October and September. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 2.9%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for November was estimated at 3.5%, which is lower than October’s final rate of 3.6% and the same as September’s final rate of 3.5%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.7%

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for November was estimated at 67.1%, which is the same as the final rate for October, but lower than the final rate of 67.2% for September. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 67.6%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in November was estimated at 63.2%, which is lower than October’s final rate of 63.3% and the same as September’s final rate of 63.2%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 62.9%.

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