Thursday, October 19, 2000 Governor Tommy G. Thompson Secretary Jennifer Reinert | 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 SEPTEMBER STATEWIDE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES RELEASED MADISON The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today announced the states seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the month of September was 3.6 percent, up one tenth of a percentage point from the month of August. "Wisconsin continues to rank among the best states in the country for working people. Solid gains in employment and job creation over the past year, with minimal increases in unemployment, indicate a strong and healthy economy for Wisconsin," said Secretary Reinert. When adjusted for the season, the labor force declined by 3,000, employment declined by 6,800 and unemployment rose by 3,800. According to state labor market analysts, a very large gain in the labor force over the year has resulted in the higher unemployment rate. "When you have more people entering the states labor force it takes time for them to become absorbed into employment, often resulting in temporary increases in unemployment," said August Cibarich, state labor market analyst. Non-farm wage and salary job totals increased slightly over the month. Monthly job gains occurred in four of the eight private industry groups. The service group; construction group; finance, insurance and real estate group; and the transportation and public utilities group all experienced job gains over the month. All major industry groups except the very small mining group had substantial gains over the year. The trade and service industry groups had job gains of 15,300 and 10,200 respectively. The national unemployment rate for the month of September was 3.9 percent, marking the 152nd consecutive month that Wisconsins unemployment rate has been lower than the national rate. NOTE TO NEWS MEDIA County employment and unemployment figures for September should be available by October 24. This release and other labor market information is available on the department Internet site at: http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/dwelmi (end) WISCONSIN LABOR FORCE SUMMARY IN THOUSANDS | | | | | | Net Change From | | ITEM | Prelim. Sep. 2000 | Final Aug. 2000 | Year Ago Sep. 1999 | Month Ago | Year Ago | | | | | | | | | PLACE OF RESIDENCE DATA | | | | | | | CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE | 3021.6 | 3059.8 | 2889.3 | -38.2 | 132.3 | | UNEMPLOYMENT | 93.6 | 98.7 | 65.5 | -5.1 | 28.1 | | UNEMPLOYMENT RATE | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.3 | -0.1 | 0.8 | | EMPLOYMENT (1) | 2928.1 | 2961.2 | 2823.8 | -33.1 | 104.3 | | | | | | | | | PLACE OF WORK DATA | | | | | | | NONFARM WAGE & SALARY | 2843.3 | 2836.8 | 2800.8 | 6.5 | 42.5 | | MANUFACTURING | 615.3 | 622.7 | 616.6 | -7.4 | -1.3 | | DURABLE GOODS | 375.5 | 379.4 | 375.9 | -3.9 | -0.4 | | Lumber and Wood Products | 33.1 | 33.6 | 32.8 | -0.5 | 0.3 | | Furniture and Fixtures | 18.9 | 19.1 | 17.8 | -0.2 | 1.1 | | Stone, Clay & Glass Products | 12.7 | 12.7 | 11.9 | 0.0 | 0.8 | | Primary Metal Industries | 26.0 | 26.5 | 25.7 | -0.5 | 0.3 | | Fabricated Metal Products | 69.0 | 69.7 | 68.3 | -0.7 | 0.7 | | Nonelectrical Machinery | 108.4 | 109.3 | 110.8 | -0.9 | -2.4 | | Electrical Machinery | 45.2 | 45.6 | 45.9 | -0.4 | -0.7 | | Transportation Equipment | 33.9 | 34.5 | 34.0 | -0.6 | -0.1 | Prof., Scient. & Control Instruments | 17.5 | 17.9 | 17.7 | -0.4 | -0.2 | | Miscellaneous Manufacturing | 10.7 | 10.6 | 11.0 | 0.1 | -0.3 | | | | | | | | | NONDURABLE GOODS | 239.8 | 243.2 | 240.7 | -3.4 | -0.9 | | Food and Kindred Products | 68.2 | 69.5 | 67.7 | -1.3 | 0.5 | | Textile Mill Products | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 0.0 | -0.2 | Apparel & Other Finished Products | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.9 | -0.1 | -0.1 | | Paper and Allied Products | 50.8 | 52.2 | 52.5 | -1.4 | -1.7 | | Printing, Publishing & Allied | 54.9 | 55.2 | 54.3 | -0.3 | 0.6 | | Chemicals and Allied Products | 13.8 | 13.9 | 14.4 | -0.1 | -0.6 | | Rubber & Misc. Plastic Products | 39.6 | 39.6 | 38.9 | 0.0 | 0.7 | | Leather & Leather Products | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.0 | -0.1 | | All Other Nondurable Goods | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | | | | | | | | | MINING | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 | | CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION | 133.3 | 135.1 | 129.7 | -1.8 | 3.6 | TRANS, COMM, ELEC, GAS & SAN. SERV. | 135.7 | 131.4 | 132.8 | 4.3 | 2.9 | | TRADE | 647.1 | 653.1 | 631.8 | -6.0 | 15.3 | | WHOLESALE TRADE | 140.6 | 142.2 | 138.2 | -1.6 | 2.4 | | RETAIL TRADE | 506.5 | 510.8 | 493.5 | -4.3 | 13.0 | FINANCE, INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE | 151.4 | 152.2 | 146.5 | -0.8 | 4.9 | | SERVICES AND MISCELLANEOUS | 758.1 | 761.2 | 747.9 | -3.1 | 10.2 | | GOVERNMENT | 399.4 | 378.4 | 392.4 | 21.0 | 7.0 | | FEDERAL | 29.8 | 34.9 | 29.9 | -5.1 | -0.1 | | STATE | 97.2 | 93.7 | 97.1 | 3.5 | 0.1 | | LOCAL | 272.4 | 249.8 | 265.4 | 22.6 | 7.0 | | | | | | | | PERSONS INVOLVED IN L-M DISPUTES | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | | (1) Includes L-M Disputes | | SEASONALLY ADJUSTED LABOR FORCE ESTIMATES | | CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE | 3026.6 | 3029.6 | 2894.8 | -3.0 | 131.8 | | UNEMPLOYMENT | 110.2 | 106.4 | 83.3 | 3.8 | 26.9 | | UNEMPLOYMENT RATE | 3.6 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 0.1 | 0.7 | | EMPLOYMENT | 2916.4 | 2923.2 | 2811.5 | -6.8 | 104.9 | | NONFARM WAGE & SALARY | 2824.3 | 2823.5 | 2779.6 | 0.8 | 44.7 | | News Release Index Page |