Department of Workforce Development

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Wednesday, May 24, 2000 Governor Tommy G. Thompson Secretary Linda Stewart

News Media Contact Christopher Marschman 608/261-6705 e-mail: news@dwd.state.wi.us fax: 608/266-1784

Contact: August Cibarich, 608/266-0522

  
APRIL UNEMPLOYMENT RATES RELEASED

MADISON—The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today announced the state’s seasonally-
adjusted unemployment rate in April was 3.4 percent, which is up from 3.1 last month and up from 3.0 at this time last year.

"This month’s figures look deceiving when you consider that total unemployment claims actually went down in the month of April," said DWD Deputy Secretary Orlando Canto.  "There were actually 6,700 fewer claims filed this month than there were in March, but the numbers are skewed somewhat because the low number of layoffs in January and February caused seasonal adjustment to overstate unemployment this spring."

Canto also pointed out that there were nearly 22,000 more people employed in Wisconsin in April than there were the month before, indications of a strong job market and a growing labor force.

State labor market analysts attribute the state increase to several factors.  A mild winter with abundant work led to record-low unemployment rates in January and February, which meant fewer layoffs in those months and less people called back in March and April.

Officials also believe the recent rise could be a result of a larger labor force in Wisconsin.  The large gain in the state’s labor force level over the month and year implies additional job seekers from outside the labor force likely contributed to the increase.  It appears that the strong economy and efforts of businesses to attract additional workers has brought new labor to the state and convinced many who were previously not in the workforce, such as retirees and homemakers, to join or re-enter the labor force.

A larger labor market is good news for Wisconsin employers, who have recognized worker shortages in recent years.  However, many of those new entrants were not immediately absorbed into the labor force, or not absorbed quickly enough to be reflected in the April statistics.

"Most people don’t find the job they want the first day they are looking, but we know there are plenty of jobs out there waiting to be filled.  We are happy to see indications that available labor is rising to meet the demand for workers, especially as we approach the summer months when that demand is at its highest," Canto said.

County unemployment rates, which are not seasonally adjusted, were under 4.0 percent for the majority of Wisconsin counties.  Thirty-four counties had rates of 3.9 percent or less, twenty-two ranged from 4.0 to 5.9 percent and sixteen had rates of 6.0 percent or more.

"It’s hard to go anywhere but up in our unemployment rate given the record low figures the state has posted in recent months," Canto said.  "The slight increase in April is the expected result that follows our record lows."

The nation’s unemployment rate decreased two tenths to 3.9 percent, marking the 147^th consecutive month that Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has been lower than the national rate.  For the year, Wisconsin’s average rate of 3.0 equals the average rate for 1999.

(end)

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Employment and Labor Force
Household Survey

Unadjusted estimates	April   2000	March  2000	April  1999
Total labor force	2,991,600	2,973,500	2,835,400
Employed	2,887,700	2,865,900	2,745,800
Unemployed	103,900	110,600	89,700
Wis. Unemployment Rate	3.5%	3.7%	3.2%
U.S. Unemployment Rate	3.7%	4.3%	4.1%

 

Seasonally adjusted	April  2000	March  2000	April  1999
Total labor force	3,015,500	3,007,200	2,857,500
Employed	2,913,900	2,915,400	2,770,700
Unemployed	101,600	91,800	86,800
Wis. Unemployment	3.4%	3.1%	3.0%
U.S. Unemployment	3.9%	4.1%	4.3%

 

*Metro National rank Mar. 2000	Unemployment % seasonally adjusted	April 2000	March 2000	April 1999
** 20th	Wisconsin	3.4%	3.1%	3.0%
63rd	Appleton-Oshkosh	2.3%	2.2%	2.3%
233rd	Eau Claire	3.7%	3.4%	3.6%
63rd	Green Bay	2.4%	2.3%	2.2%
239th	Janesville-Beloit	5.0%	4.4%	3.7%
164th	Kenosha	3.7%	3.4%	3.1%
137th	La Crosse	3.4%	3.1%	2.6%
6th	Madison	1.6%	1.4%	1.3%
145th	Milwaukee-Waukesha	3.6%	3.3%	3.1%
239th	Racine	4.4%	4.1%	4.1%
27th	Sheboygan	2.3%	2.0%	1.9%
259th	Wausau	3.0%	3.8%	2.9%
This is the latest available data for the U.S.’s 329 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 and are based on unadjusted data for the previous month, while the rates shown above for Wisconsin cities are seasonally-adjusted and for the current month. ** State ranking is seasonally adjusted * Metropolitan ranking is not seasonally adjusted and is for the prior month

Source: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

  

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Labor Force Summary
In Thousands

Item	Prelim  April 2000	Final    March 2000	Year Ago April 2000	Net Change From
				Month  Ago	Year  Ago
PLACE OF RESIDENCE DATA
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE	2991.6	2973.5	2835.4	18.1	156.2
UNEMPLOYMENT	103.9	110.6	89.7	-6.7	14.2
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE	3.5	3.7	3.2	-0.2	0.3
EMPLOYMENT (1)	2887.7	2862.9	2745.8	24.8	141.9
PLACE OF WORK DATA
NONFARM WAGE & SALARY	2801.1	2764.9	2760.1	36.2	41.0
MANUFACTURING	611.1	610.2	612.4	0.9	-1.3
DURABLE GOODS	376.5	375.1	375.7	1.4	0.8
Lumber and Wood Products	32.4	32.0	32.2	0.4	0.2
Furniture and Fixtures	18.2	18.1	17.5	0.1	0.7
Stone, Clay & Glass Products	12.2	11.3	11.3	0.9	0.9
Primary Metal Industries	26.1	26.1	26.3	0.0	-0.2
Fabricated Metal Products	69.1	67.9	68.1	1.2	1.0
Nonelectrical Machinery	109.9	110.5	112.0	-0.6	-2.1
Electrical Machinery	46.2	46.3	46.1	-0.1	0.1
Transportation Equipment	34.3	34.4	33.4	-0.1	0.9
Prof., Scient. & Control Instruments	17.6	17.8	17.7	-0.2	-0.1
Miscellaneous Manufacturing	10.6	10.6	11.1	0.0	-0.5
NONDURABLE GOODS	234.6	235.1	236.7	-0.5	-2.1
Food and Kindred Products	62.9	63.3	62.9	-0.4	0.0
Textile Mill Products	2.4	2.3	2.7	0.1	-0.3
Apparel & Other Finished Products	5.8	5.9	5.9	-0.1	-0.1
Paper and Allied Products	51.0	51.5	52.3	-0.5	-1.3
Printing, Publishing & Allied	54.4	54.4	55.0	0.0	-0.6
Chemicals and Allied Products	14.2	14.2	14.7	0.0	-0.5
Rubber & Misc. Plastic Products	39.6	39.4	38.7	0.2	0.9
Leather & Leather Products	3.8	3.8	4.1	0.0	-0.3
All Other Nondurable Goods	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.0	0.0
MINING	2.6	2.2	2.8	0.4	-0.2
CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION	119.0	109.2	116.7	9.8	2.3
TRANS, COMM, ELEC, GAS & SAN. SERV.	132.4	130.2	130.2	2.2	2.2
TRADE	631.2	622.4	615.1	8.8	16.1
WHOLESALE TRADE	138.5	137.7	137.1	0.8	1.4
RETAIL TRADE	492.7	484.7	477.9	8.0	14.8
FINANCE, INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE	148.7	148.2	145.5	0.5	3.2
SERVICES AND MISCELLANEOUS	740.6	733.1	728.7	7.5	11.9
GOVERNMENT	415.6	409.6	408.8	6.0	6.8
FEDERAL	33.3	32.1	30.9	1.2	2.4
STATE	101.7	100.0	103.5	1.7	-1.8
LOCAL	280.5	277.4	274.4	3.1	6.1
PERSONS INVOLVED IN L-M DISPUTES	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
(1) Includes L-M Disputes
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED LABOR FORCE ESTIMATES
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE	3015.5	3007.2	2857.	8.3	158.
UNEMPLOYMENT	101.6	91.8	86.8	9.8	14.8
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE	3.4	3.1	3.0	0.3	0.4
EMPLOYMENT	2913.9	2915.4	2770.7	-1.5	143.2

  

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Maps of April 2000 Unemployment Rates by County

Wisconsin Counties Unemployment Rates April 2000 Not seasonally adjusted RANK   COUNTY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR  AGO RATE RANK COUNTY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR  AGO RATE                             36 ADAMS 4.1% 5.1% 30 3.7% 51 MARATHON 3.2% 5.0% 34 3.1% 2 ASHLAND 9.1% 8.3% 5 9.6% 26 MARINETTE 4.5% 5.3% 27 5.2% 32 BARRON 4.3% 5.3% 26 4.2% 9 MARQUETTE 6.7% 7.7% 10 5.3% 5 BAYFIELD 8.4% 8.7% 3 8.5% 4 MENOMINEE 9.0% 8.0% 8 10.4% 65 BROWN 2.5% 2.6% 66 2.3% 30 MILWAUKEE 4.5% 4.1% 47 3.8% 39 BUFFALO 3.9% 4.3% 43 3.4% 41 MONROE 3.7% 4.8% 37 3.5%                             31 BURNETT 4.4% 5.4% 23 5.2% 23 OCONTO 4.8% 5.4% 24 4.8% 66 CALUMET 2.5% 2.5% 67 2.4% 13 ONEIDA 6.3% 6.8% 19 5.6% 25 CHIPPEWA 4.6% 5.6% 22 4.7% 62 OUTAGAMIE 2.7% 2.9% 64 2.6% 14 CLARK 5.8% 7.5% 14 6.1% 71 OZAUKEE 2.0% 2.0% 71 1.8% 21 COLUMBIA 4.9% 5.1% 33 4.2% 22 PEPIN 4.8% 6.0% 20 3.8% 48 CRAWFORD 3.4% 4.1% 46 3.8% 56 PIERCE 3.0% 3.6% 54 2.4%                             72 DANE 1.6% 1.7% 72 1.4% 42 POLK 3.7% 4.8% 38 4.0% 59 DODGE 2.8% 3.3% 60 2.6% 49 PORTAGE 3.4% 4.0% 48 3.3% 16 DOOR 5.5% 6.9% 18 5.4% 3 PRICE 9.0% 8.6% 4 10.4% 17 DOUGLAS 5.5% 5.4% 25 5.3% 29 RACINE 4.5% 4.5% 41 4.3% 33 DUNN 4.3% 5.2% 29 3.6% 43 RICHLAND 3.7% 4.2% 45 3.2% 47 EAU CLAIRE 3.6% 3.7% 53 3.4% 28 ROCK 4.5% 4.5% 40 3.4%                             11 FLORENCE 6.6% 7.7% 9 8.1% 8 RUSK 7.3% 8.9% 2 5.0% 54 FOND DU LAC 3.1% 3.5% 57 2.6% 57 SAUK 3.0% 3.6% 55 2.9% 12 FOREST 6.5% 8.1% 7 5.9% 10 SAWYER 6.7% 7.7% 11 6.9% 55 GRANT 3.0% 3.7% 52 3.8% 38 SHAWANO 4.1% 4.9% 36 3.8% 44 GREEN 3.7% 3.9% 49 3.7% 69 SHEBOYGAN 2.3% 2.2% 70 1.9% 35 GREEN LAKE 4.1% 5.2% 28 4.4% 63 ST. CROIX 2.5% 3.3% 59 2.5%                             58 IOWA 2.8% 3.8% 50 3.0% 19 TAYLOR 5.2% 7.0% 16 4.9% 1 IRON 10.5% 9.2% 1 8.8% 24 TREMPEALEAU 4.6% 5.8% 21 3.9% 40 JACKSON 3.8% 4.8% 39 3.0% 37 VERNON 4.1% 5.1% 31 3.8% 60 JEFFERSON 2.8% 3.2% 61 2.5% 7 VILAS 7.4% 7.7% 13 7.1% 6 JUNEAU 7.4% 7.7% 12 7.3% 61 WALWORTH 2.7% 3.0% 63 2.4% 45 KENOSHA 3.7% 3.5% 58 3.0% 15 WASHBURN 5.7% 8.1% 6 6.1%                             67 KEWAUNEE 2.4% 3.0% 62 2.9% 64 WASHINGTON 2.5% 2.6% 65 2.1% 53 LA CROSSE 3.2% 3.6% 56 2.6% 68 WAUKESHA 2.4% 2.4% 69 2.0% 52 LAFAYETTE 3.2% 4.4% 42 3.6% 46 WAUPACA 3.6% 4.2% 44 3.3% 18 LANGLADE 5.3% 7.3% 15 5.3% 27 WAUSHARA 4.5% 5.1% 32 4.5% 20 LINCOLN 5.0% 6.9% 17 5.0% 70 WINNEBAGO 2.2% 2.4% 68 2.3% 50 MANITOWOC 3.4% 3.8% 51 3.8% 34 WOOD 4.2% 5.0% 35 3.8%