On January 29th, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary December 2019 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties and the 33 cities with populations greater than 25,000 residents. St. Croix County’s December rate was estimated at 2.6%. For comparison, St. Croix’s final rate in November was 3.0% and October’s final rate was 2.6%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 3.0%.

DWD said preliminary unemployment rates from November to December declined or remained the same in nine of the 72 counties. The rates ranged from 2.1% in Dane to 6.7% in Bayfield.

Preliminary unemployment rates declined or stayed the same in 18 of Wisconsin’s 33 largest municipalities from November to December. Rates ranged from 2.0% in Madison to 4.5% in Racine.

The five counties with the lowest unemployment rates in December include Dane (2.1%), Ozaukee (2.5%), Washington (also at 2.5%), Calumet (2.6%), and La Crosse (also at 2.6%). Bayfield County had the highest rate in December at 6.7%, followed by Menominee (6.5%), Iron (6.4%), Burnett (5.8%), and Adams (also at 5.8%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to St. Croix’s rate of 3.6%, December’s preliminary rate in Dunn was 3.5%, while Pierce was at 3.7% and Polk at 4.8%.

St. Croix and Pierce counties are included in the 15-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area. The December 2019 unemployment rate for the Twin Cities was estimated at 3.0%, which is higher than the final rate of 2.7% in November and October’s final rate of 2.5%. The unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 2.8% in December 2018.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in December was estimated at 3.4%, which is higher than the final rate of 3.3% for both November and October. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.0%.

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

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. for December was estimated at 3.5%, which is the same as November’s final rate but lower than October’s final rate of 3.6%. One year ago, the U.S. rate (seasonally adjusted) was estimated at 3.9%

Wisconsin’s preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for December was estimated at 67.0%, which is lower than the final rate of 67.1% for both November and October. One year ago, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 67.5%. The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) labor force participation rate for the U.S. in December was estimated at 63.2%, which is the same as November’s final rate, but lower than October’s final rate of 63.3%. One year ago, the labor force participation rate in the U.S. was 63.0%.

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