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| Wednesday, July 29, 1998 Governor Tommy G. Thompson Secretary Linda Stewart | News Media Contact Michael H. McCoy 608/267-4400 e-mail: mccoymi@dwd.state.wi.us fax: 608/266-1784 |
For more information contact:
August Cibarich, 608/266-0522
State's jobless rate at record low
for month for third straight time
Madison, Wis. -- Wisconsin's seasonally-adjusted jobless rate was a preliminary 3.0 per cent in mid-June, the lowest June level on record even though up from May's 2.7 per cent.
It was the third month in a row that the jobless rate has set a record low for the month. The April rate of 2.4 per cent also was the lowest ever for any month in Wisconsin. Seasonally-adjusted record-keeping began in 1960.
The latest monthly change came as large numbers of high school and college students and graduates entered the labor market at the beginning of the summer.
That resulted in a gain over the month of 84,000 in the state's labor force, which was the largest May-to-June gain since at least 1978. Average growth for the period would have been about 76,600.
It also helped to push the total number of persons working or looking for work in Wisconsin to 3,025,900 and above the 3.0 million mark for the first time ever.
"The June unemployment rate increase offers a ray of hope to employers struggling hard in a very tight labor market to find workers to fill their openings," said Bruce Hagen of the State Workforce Development Department.
"At the same time, the historically low rates we're seeing recently encourage those looking for work to remain active in the labor market. They continued to find jobs in large numbers last month.
"Unemployment always increases at the beginning of summer. The increase this June should be largely absorbed by additional hiring as the summer expansion continues."
Hagen said the state's job market remains better for jobseekers than even a year ago and when compared to the U.S. this June. The state's jobless rate was 3.8 per cent last June, while the U.S. jobless rate this June was 4.5 per cent.
The U.S. rate also rose nearly as much as Wisconsin's rate over the month, from 4.3 in mid-May, he said.
While total employment also increased a sizable amount -- by 61,600 to 2,929,600 -- in June, it was a slightly-below average gain for the period. "Greater than normal hiring earlier this year probably prevented a seasonally-adjusted gain in employment in June," Hagen said. "We've seen that same impact other times this year."
All but one of the major private-sector industry groups recorded increases in the number of nonfarm wage and salary jobs, he added. Services and Miscellaneous was up the most over the month, by 14, 500. Manufacturing was second with job growth of 9,700, Trade grew by 8,400 jobs for third and Construction was up 7,100 and in fourth position. The smallest of the groups, Mining, was unchanged.
The government group declined over the month by 5,800 before adjustment, a usual occurrence as schools close for the summer, but the drop was smaller than usual resulting in a seasonally-adjusted gain of 1,200.
Total nonfarm wage and salary employment statewide, at 2,754,300 in June, grew by 36,600 over the month and by 62,600 over the year.
Hagen said the shutdown of General Motors operations in Wisconsin and elsewhere had little to no impact on the jobless rate since the shutdown began after the data was gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau in mid-June. The first direct impact will be seen in the July data to be reported in late August.
Hagen also said that jobless rates rose in nine of Wisconsin's 11 largest metropolitan areas in June over the month before, with only Green Bay and Sheboygan remaining unchanged. Rates in Kenosha and Wausau rose the most, up six-tenths of a percentage point. But all 11 were down over the year before, he said, with Janesville-Beloit recording the largest decline of 1.8 percentage points.
Madison's rate of 1.4 per cent, up from 1.3 per cent in May, remained the lowest among the 11 and second lowest among the nation's 326 largest urban areas ranked by the U.S. Labor Department using May data. Among the nation's 51 largest cities, Milwaukee had the sixth lowest rate in May.
Unemployment in the Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis., urban area was 4.7 per cent in June, up from 3.7 per cent in May. The data previously was released by the Minnesota Department of Economic Security, which does not seasonally adjust data for other than the state.
Hagen said Wisconsin was tied with North Carolina with the eighth lowest state unemployment rate in the U.S. Nebraska was lowest at 1.7 per cent. Rates in surrounding states were Iowa at 2.5 per cent, Minnesosta at 2.6 per cent, Michigan at 3.6 per cent, and Illinois at 4.5 per cent.
| Unadjusted estimates | June | Previous | Year ago |
Total labor force | 3,025,900 | 2,941,900 | 2,991,000 |
Employed | 2,929,600 | 2,868,000 | 2,872,200 |
Unemployed | 96,200 | 73,900 | 118,700 |
Wis. Unemployment Rate | 3.2% | 2.5% | 4.0% |
U.S. Unemployment Rate | 4.7% | 4.2% | 5.2% |
| Seasonally adjusted | June | Previous | Year ago |
Total labor force | 2,956,700 | 2,949,300 | 2,923,700 |
Employed | 2,869,400 | 2,870,900 | 2,814,000 |
Unemployed | 87,300 | 78,400 | 109,700 |
Wis. Unemployment | 3.0% | 2.7% | 3.8% |
U.S. Unemployment | 4.5% | 4.3% | 5.0% |
| May U.S. rank* | Unemployment | June 1998 | Last | Year |
Wisconsin | 3.0% | 2.7% | 3.8% | |
24th | Appleton-Oshkosh | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.1 |
31st | Eau Claire | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.8 |
26th | Green Bay | 2.3 | 2.3 | 3.3 |
90th | Janesville-Beloit | 3.5 | 3.1 | 5.3 |
51st | Kenosha | 3.2 | 2.6 | 4.0 |
20th | La Crosse | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.9 |
2nd | Madison | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.8 |
62nd | Milwaukee-Waukesha | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.6 |
90th | Racine | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.4 |
11th | Sheboygan | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.8 |
51st | Wausau | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.6 |
| * This is the latest available data for the U.S.'s 328 largest metro areas. Urban rankings are NOT seasonally adjusted. Lower is better. Ties are shown only if existing with other Wisconsin urban areas; ties with urban areas in other states are not shown, but are available upon request. Rankings are by the U.S. Labor Department based on preliminary data, while monthly data shown above for "last month" may contain some post-ranking revisions. | ||||
Non-Farm Wage & Salary
Employer Survey
June | May | Year | +/- | +/– | |
| NONFARM WAGE & SALARY | 2,754,300 | 2,717,700 | 2,691,700 | 36,600 | 62,600 |
| MANUFACTURING | 625,800 | 616,100 | 616,700 | 9,700 | 9,100 |
| DURABLE GOODS . | 383,700 | 379,100 | 376,000 | 4,600 | 7,700 |
| Lumber and Wood Products | 32,600 | 31,400 | 32,100 | 1,200 | 500 |
| Furniture and Fixtures | 17,700 | 17,300 | 17,200 | 400 | 500 |
| Stone, Clay & Glass Products | 11,600 | 11,200 | 11,300 | 400 | 300 |
| Primary Metal Industries | 26,800 | 26,500 | 24,800 | 300 | 2,000 |
| Fabricated Metal Products | 67,500 | 66,400 | 66,300 | 1,100 | 1,200 |
| Nonelectrical Machinery | 115,700 | 115,700 | 115,000 | 0 | 700 |
| Electrical Machinery | 47,200 | 47,000 | 47,000 | 200 | 200 |
| Transportation Equipment . | 34,100 | 33,600 | 32,600 | 500 | 1,500 |
| Prof., Scient. & Control Instr | 18,600 | 18,400 | 18,100 | 200 | 500 |
| Miscellaneous Manufacturing | 11,900 | 11,600 | 11,500 | 300 | 400 |
| NONDURABLE GOODS | 242,000 | 237,000 | 240,700 | 5,000 | 1,300 |
| Food and Kindred Products | 65,100 | 63,000 | 66,000 | 2,100 | -900 |
| Textile Mill Products | 3,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 0 | 0 |
| Apparel & Other Finished Prods. | 6,500 | 6,400 | 6,400 | 100 | 100 |
| Paper and Allied Products . | 54,800 | 53,400 | 54,500 | 1,400 | 300 |
| Printing, Publishing & Allied . .. | 55,900 | 55,100 | 54,200 | 800 | 1,700 |
| Chemicals and Allied Products . | 14,900 | 14,600 | 14,400 | 300 | 500 |
| Rubber & Misc. Plastic Prods.. | 36,700 | 36,500 | 36,900 | 200 | -200 |
| Leather & Leather Products | 4,700 | 4,700 | 5,000 | 0 | -300 |
| All Other Nondurable Goods .. | 400 | 400 | 400 | 0 | 0 |
| MINING | 2,600 | 2,600 | 2,900 | 0 | -300 |
| CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION | 122,100 | 115,000 | 117,700 | 7,100 | 4,400 |
| TRANS, COMM, ELEC, GAS | 125,500 | 125,300 | 125,300 | 200 | 200 |
| TRADE | 623,700 | 615,300 | 611,200 | 8,400 | 12,500 |
| WHOLESALE TRADE | 138,200 | 136,500 | 134,900 | 1,700 | 3,300 |
| RETAIL TRADE | 485,500 | 478,800 | 476,300 | 6,700 | 9,200 |
| FINANCE, INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE | 145,400 | 143,100 | 141,600 | 2,300 | 3,800 |
| SERVICES AND MISCELLANEOUS | 713,300 | 698,800 | 687,600 | 14,500 | 25,700 |
| GOVERNMENT | 395,800 | 401,600 | 388,700 | -5,800 | 7,100 |
| FEDERAL | 29,700 | 29,500 | 29,800 | 200 | -100 |
| STATE | 93,500 | 100,400 | 90,000 | -6,900 | 3,500 |
| LOCAL | 272,700 | 271,800 | 268,900 | 900 | 3,800 |
| PERSONS INVOLVED IN L-M DISPUTES | 400 | 0 | 0 | 400 | 400 |
Unemployment by County | ||||||||||
| RANK | COUNTY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RANK | RANK | COUNTY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RANK | |
| 32 | ADAMS | 3.7% | 3.0% | 28 | 41 | MARATHON | 3.3% | 2.5% | 49 | |
| 2 | ASHLAND | 8.2% | 6.6% | 3 | 6 | MARINETTE | 6.0% | 4.7% | 8 | |
| 34 | BARRON | 3.6% | 2.9% | 34 | 19 | MARQUETTE | 4.4% | 4.1% | 10 | |
| 9 | BAYFIELD | 5.7% | 4.7% | 7 | 1 | MENOMINEE | 9.9% | 9.3% | 1 | |
| 57 | BROWN | 2.8% | 2.2% | 56 | 26 | MILWAUKEE | 3.9% | 3.1% | 25 | |
| 49 | BUFFALO | 3.1% | 1.9% | 66 | 38 | MONROE | 3.4% | 2.6% | 42 | |
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| 50 | BURNETT | 3.0% | 2.6% | 41 | 10 | OCONTO | 5.1% | 3.8% | 15 | |
| 59 | CALUMET | 2.8% | 2.1% | 62 | 33 | ONEIDA | 3.6% | 3.0% | 26 | |
| 52 | CHIPPEWA | 3.0% | 2.4% | 52 | 65 | OUTAGAMIE | 2.5% | 2.1% | 60 | |
| 11 | CLARK | 5.0% | 4.1% | 12 | 60 | OZAUKEE | 2.8% | 1.7% | 70 | |
| 28 | COLUMBIA | 3.8% | 3.2% | 23 | 35 | PEPIN | 3.5% | 2.8% | 37 | |
| 29 | CRAWFORD | 3.8% | 3.0% | 29 | 71 | PIERCE | 2.3% | 1.6% | 71 | |
| 72 | DANE | 1.5% | 1.2% | 72 | 40 | POLK | 3.3% | 2.9% | 33 | |
| 58 | DODGE | 2.8% | 2.1% | 61 | 23 | PORTAGE | 4.0% | 3.0% | 31 | |
| 30 | DOOR | 3.7% | 3.6% | 17 | 12 | PRICE | 5.0% | 3.9% | 14 | |
| 13 | DOUGLAS | 4.9% | 3.7% | 16 | 31 | RACINE | 3.7% | 3.0% | 27 | |
| 48 | DUNN | 3.1% | 2.2% | 59 | 43 | RICHLAND | 3.2% | 2.5% | 48 | |
| 47 | EAU CLAIRE | 3.1% | 2.2% | 58 | 25 | ROCK | 3.9% | 3.1% | 24 | |
| 4 | FLORENCE | 6.6% | 5.3% | 5 | 14 | RUSK | 4.7% | 4.2% | 9 | |
| 53 | FOND DU LAC | 2.9% | 2.3% | 55 | 62 | SAUK | 2.7% | 2.5% | 45 | |
| 5 | FOREST | 6.3% | 5.4% | 4 | 15 | SAWYER | 4.7% | 4.1% | 11 | |
| 18 | GRANT | 4.5% | 3.0% | 32 | 27 | SHAWANO | 3.9% | 3.0% | 30 | |
| 42 | GREEN | 3.2% | 2.7% | 40 | 70 | SHEBOYGAN | 2.3% | 1.7% | 69 | |
| 21 | GREEN LAKE | 4.1% | 3.6% | 18 | 69 | ST. CROIX | 2.3% | 1.8% | 68 | |
| 63 | IOWA | 2.7% | 2.4% | 50 | 45 | TAYLOR | 3.1% | 2.8% | 36 | |
| 3 | IRON | 6.7% | 6.8% | 2 | 46 | TREMPEALEAU | 3.1% | 2.5% | 47 | |
| 39 | JACKSON | 3.4% | 2.6% | 43 | 24 | VERNON | 4.0% | 2.9% | 35 | |
| 66 | JEFFERSON | 2.5% | 2.0% | 64 | 61 | VILAS | 2.7% | 2.7% | 39 | |
| 8 | JUNEAU | 5.7% | 5.0% | 6 | 67 | WALWORTH | 2.4% | 2.0% | 63 | |
| 37 | KENOSHA | 3.5% | 2.6% | 44 | 20 | WASHBURN | 4.3% | 3.4% | 20 | |
| 44 | KEWAUNEE | 3.2% | 2.4% | 53 | 56 | WASHINGTON | 2.8% | 2.3% | 54 | |
| 64 | LA CROSSE | 2.7% | 2.0% | 65 | 68 | WAUKESHA | 2.3% | 1.8% | 67 | |
| 36 | LAFAYETTE | 3.5% | 2.8% | 38 | 51 | WAUPACA | 3.0% | 2.4% | 51 | |
| 7 | LANGLADE | 5.8% | 3.6% | 19 | 16 | WAUSHARA | 4.7% | 3.9% | 13 | |
| 22 | LINCOLN | 4.1% | 3.3% | 22 | 54 | WINNEBAGO | 2.9% | 2.2% | 57 | |
| 55 | MANITOWOC | 2.8% | 2.5% | 46 | 17 | WOOD | 4.5% | 3.4% | 21 | |