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On October 27th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary September 2021 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 2.8%, which is lower than the final rate of 3.3% for both August and July. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 5.1%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates declined from August to September in all 72 counties and declined in all counties year-over-year. The rates ranged from 2.2% in Lafayette to 8.0% in Menominee.

Preliminary unemployment rates declined from August to September in all of Wisconsin’s 34 largest cities and declined in all of the largest cities year-over-year. Rates ranged from 2.5% in Fitchburg to 6.2% in Milwaukee and Racine.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in September include Lafayette (2.2%), Calumet (2.4%), Kewaunee (also at 2.4%), Taylor (also at 2.4%), and Clark (2.5%). Menominee County had the highest rate in September at 8.0%, followed by Forest (5.7%), Milwaukee (5.1%), Adams (5.0%), and Iron (4.8%).

St. Croix, Pierce, and Polk counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 2.8%, September’s preliminary rate in Pierce was 2.8% and Polk’s rate was 3.2%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The September 2021 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.0%, which is lower than the final rate of 3.5% for both August and July. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 5.9% in September2020.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in September was estimated at 3.9%, matching the final rates for both August and July. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 5.2%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota in September was estimated at 3.7%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 3.8% and July’s final rate of 3.9%. Minnesota’s seasonally-adjusted rate one year ago was 7.9%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for September was estimated at 4.8%, which is lower than August’s final rate of 5.2% and July’s final rate of 5.4%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 7.9%.

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for September was estimated at 66.6%, which is higher than August’s final rate of 66.5% and July’s final rate of 66.4%. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was also 67.2%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in September was estimated at 61.6%, which is lower than the final rate 61.7% for both August and July. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was also 61.4%.

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