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On October 21st, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary September 2020 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 34 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s September rate was estimated at 4.8%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 6.3% and July’s final rate of 7.8%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 2.6%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from August to September decreased in all 72 counties over the month. The rates ranged from 2.6% in Kewaunee to 12.8% in Menominee.

Preliminary unemployment rates declined in all of Wisconsin’s 34 largest municipalities from August to September. Rates ranged from 3.5% in Oshkosh to 8.4% in Milwaukee.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in September include Kewaunee (2.6%), Clark (2.8%), Lafayette (also at 2.8%), Taylor (2.9%), and Calumet (3.1%). Menominee County had the highest rate in September at 12.8%, followed by Forest (10.9%), Iron (8.2%), Milwaukee (7.3%), and Jackson (also at 7.3%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 4.8%, September’s preliminary rate in Dunn is 3.6%, while Polk reported 4.5% and Pierce reported 4.6%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The September 2020 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 6.0%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 7.8% and July’s final rate of 8.2%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 2.5% in September 2019.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in September was estimated at 5.4%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 6.3% and July’s final rate of 7.1%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.4%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in September was estimated at 6.0%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 7.4% and July’s final rate of 7.6%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 3.2%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for September was estimated at 7.9%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 8.4% and July’s final rate of 10.2%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.5%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for September was 67.3%, which is higher than August’s final rate of 65.6% and July’s final rate of 64.9%. 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 September was estimated at 61.4%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 61.7% and the same as July’s final rate of 61.4%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 63.2%.

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