Wednesday, June 20, 2001  Governor Scott McCallum  Secretary Jennifer Reinert | News Media Contact Christopher Marschman 608/261-6705 e-mail: news@dwd.state.wi.us fax: 608/266-1784 | Contact: Terry Ludeman, 608/267-3262 MAY LOCAL EMPLOYMENT FIGURES RELEASED MADISON – Unemployment rates in most Wisconsin counties and municipalities dropped for the third consecutive month largely reflecting a decrease in unemployment experienced by the state overall last month, according to employment data released today by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). Seven of Wisconsin’s eleven metropolitan statistical areas reported lower unadjusted unemployment rates in estimates released Wednesday. In seasonally adjusted rates, only five reported improvement from April figures. Two metro areas had no change from the April figures. "While it is encouraging to see continued improvement in unemployment levels both on a statewide and local level this month, our enthusiasm is tempered by continued softness in the manufacturing sector," DWD Secretary Jennifer Reinert said. "Wisconsin is a resilient state with a top-notch workforce, and we continue to cautiously monitor the workforce data, optimistic that all sectors of our economy will rebound fully in the near future," she said. Sixty-three of Wisconsin’s seventy-two counties showed some improvement from April figures, while two counties, Milwaukee and Ozaukee, reported slightly higher unemployment rates in May than in April. Seven counties showed no change from April figures. The state’s lowest rate was reported for Dane County at 1.6 percent, followed by Ozaukee and Waukesha at 2.9 percent. The highest rate was reported for Menominee County at 10.7 percent. Juneau County, at 7.9 percent had the second highest rate. (County unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.) The greatest improvement from the April figures was reported for Vilas County, where the rate dropped from 8.3 percent to 3.7 percent; and Oneida County, where the rate dropped from 8.5 percent to 4.1 percent; and Iron County where the rate dropped from 10.4 percent to 6.7 percent. Manufacturing employment, which lost 3,000 jobs statewide, saw losses across most of the state, with only the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the Sheboygan MSA and the Wausau MSA reporting slight improvement from April figures. The Milwaukee-Waukesha MSA, which includes, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties had the largest part of the manufacturing loss at 2,300 jobs. There are 166,600 manufacturing jobs in the Milwaukee Metropolitan Statistical Area. (end) Employment and Labor Force Household Survey | Unadjusted estimates | May 2001 | April 2001 | May 2000 | | Total labor force | 3,036,500 | 3,031,400 | 2,898,600 | | Employed | 2,917,700 | 2,898,000 | 2,797,500 | | Unemployed | 118,800 | 133,400 | 101,100 | | Wis. Unemployment Rate | 3.9% | 4.4% | 3.5% | | U.S. Unemployment Rate | 4.1% | 4.2% | 3.9% | | Seasonably adjusted | May 2001 | April 2001 | May 2000 | | Total labor force | 3,045,600 | 3,053,200 | 2,907,200 | | Employed | 2,920,600 | 2,924,300 | 2,799,700 | | Unemployed | 125,000 | 128,900 | 107,500 | | Wis. Unemployment Rate | 4.1% | 4.2% | 3.7% | | U.S. Unemployment Rate | 4.4% | 4.5% | 4.1% | May State Rank  *April Area Rank | Unemployment % seasonally adjusted
| May 2001 | April 2001 | May 2000 | | 24th | Wisconsin | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | | 176th | Appleton-Oshkosh | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.5 | | 258th | Eau Claire | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.2 | | 154th | Green Bay | 3.3 | 3.4 | 2.6 | | 290th | Janesville-Beloit | 5.5 | 6.2 | 5.1 | | 216th | Kenosha | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.0 | | 154th | La Crosse | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.4 | | 9th | Madison | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.7 | | 216th | Milwaukee-Waukesha | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | | 298th | Racine | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.1 | | 132nd | Sheboygan | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.5 | | 195th | Wausau | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.4 | - This is the latest available data for the U.S.’s 331 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 metropolitan areas 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 Maps of May 2001 Unemployment Rates by County | WISCONSIN COUNTIES Unemployment Rates May 2001 Not Seasonally Adjusted) | RANK | COUNTY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RANK | YR AGO RATE | | RANK | COUNTY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RANK | YR AGO RATE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 56 | | ADAMS | 3.5% | 4.4% | 51 | 3.7% | | 54 | | MARATHON | 3.6% | 3.9% | 60 | 3.0% | | 5 | | ASHLAND | 6.7% | 9.0% | 5 | 7.9% | | 10 | | MARINETTE | 5.9% | 6.9% | 20 | 4.2% | | 32 | | BARRON | 4.3% | 7.0% | 18 | 3.9% | | 8 | | MARQUETTE | 6.4% | 7.6% | 15 | 5.9% | | 17 | | BAYFIELD | 5.2% | 8.2% | 12 | 6.3% | | 1 | | MENOMINEE | 10.7% | 11.4% | 1 | 12.2% | | 60 | | BROWN | 3.3% | 3.5% | 64 | 2.6% | | 20 | | MILWAUKEE | 5.1% | 4.9% | 45 | 5.2% | | 55 | | BUFFALO | 3.5% | 4.5% | 49 | 3.7% | | 39 | | MONROE | 4.2% | 4.7% | 47 | 3.7% | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 28 | | BURNETT | 4.6% | 5.9% | 30 | 3.4% | | 13 | | OCONTO | 5.5% | 6.8% | 21 | 4.1% | | 63 | | CALUMET | 3.2% | 4.0% | 56 | 2.2% | | 40 | | ONEIDA | 4.1% | 8.5% | 8 | 4.5% | | 33 | | CHIPPEWA | 4.3% | 6.3% | 25 | 3.8% | | 65 | | OUTAGAMIE | 3.1% | 3.8% | 62 | 2.5% | | 7 | | CLARK | 6.5% | 8.5% | 9 | 4.8% | | 70 | | OZAUKEE | 2.9% | 2.7% | 71 | 2.2% | | 38 | | COLUMBIA | 4.2% | 5.2% | 39 | 4.2% | | 42 | | PEPIN | 4.1% | 6.1% | 26 | 4.0% | | 15 | | CRAWFORD | 5.3% | 6.1% | 27 | 3.6% | | 49 | | PIERCE | 3.7% | 4.2% | 53 | 2.7% | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 72 | | DANE | 1.6% | 1.8% | 72 | 1.7% | | 14 | | POLK | 5.3% | 7.3% | 17 | 3.6% | | 36 | | DODGE | 4.3% | 4.5% | 50 | 2.8% | | 47 | | PORTAGE | 3.9% | 4.4% | 52 | 3.5% | | 41 | | DOOR | 4.1% | 6.4% | 24 | 4.0% | | 3 | | PRICE | 7.7% | 9.8% | 4 | 8.2% | | 34 | | DOUGLAS | 4.3% | 5.4% | 36 | 5.1% | | 12 | | RACINE | 5.7% | 6.0% | 29 | 5.0% | | 64 | | DUNN | 3.1% | 4.6% | 48 | 3.4% | | 45 | | RICHLAND | 3.9% | 5.5% | 34 | 3.1% | | 58 | | EAU CLAIRE | 3.3% | 3.9% | 59 | 3.8% | | 16 | | ROCK | 5.3% | 5.7% | 33 | 4.8% | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 21 | | FLORENCE | 5.0% | 8.3% | 11 | 5.3% | | 18 | | RUSK | 5.1% | 8.1% | 13 | 5.8% | | 53 | | FOND DU LAC | 3.6% | 4.0% | 58 | 2.9% | | 68 | | SAUK | 2.9% | 3.8% | 61 | 2.6% | | 9 | | FOREST | 6.0% | 10.3% | 3 | 5.5% | | 25 | | SAWYER | 4.7% | 7.7% | 14 | 4.7% | | 22 | | GRANT | 5.0% | 6.0% | 28 | 3.3% | | 26 | | SHAWANO | 4.7% | 5.7% | 32 | 3.5% | | 35 | | GREEN | 4.3% | 5.0% | 44 | 3.6% | | 62 | | SHEBOYGAN | 3.3% | 3.3% | 69 | 2.4% | | 37 | | GREEN LAKE | 4.2% | 5.5% | 35 | 3.7% | | 51 | | ST. CROIX | 3.6% | 5.1% | 41 | 2.2% | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 67 | | IOWA | 3.0% | 4.0% | 55 | 2.7% | | 31 | | TAYLOR | 4.4% | 6.9% | 19 | 3.5% | | 4 | | IRON | 6.7% | 10.4% | 2 | 7.0% | | 24 | | TREMPEALEAU | 4.8% | 6.5% | 23 | 3.6% | | 50 | | JACKSON | 3.6% | 5.3% | 38 | 3.5% | | 43 | | VERNON | 4.1% | 5.1% | 42 | 3.5% | | 57 | | JEFFERSON | 3.5% | 3.5% | 65 | 2.7% | | 48 | | VILAS | 3.7% | 8.3% | 10 | 4.5% | | 2 | | JUNEAU | 7.9% | 9.0% | 6 | 7.7% | | 71 | | WALWORTH | 2.8% | 3.3% | 67 | 2.6% | | 44 | | KENOSHA | 4.1% | 4.1% | 54 | 3.9% | | 27 | | WASHBURN | 4.6% | 7.5% | 16 | 4.4% | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 52 | | KEWAUNEE | 3.6% | 4.0% | 57 | 2.2% | | 59 | | WASHINGTON | 3.3% | 3.5% | 63 | 2.5% | | 61 | | LA CROSSE | 3.3% | 3.3% | 68 | 3.0% | | 69 | | WAUKESHA | 2.9% | 2.9% | 70 | 2.6% | | 23 | | LAFAYETTE | 5.0% | 5.4% | 37 | 3.6% | | 46 | | WAUPACA | 3.9% | 4.8% | 46 | 3.5% | | 6 | | LANGLADE | 6.5% | 8.6% | 7 | 4.5% | | 29 | | WAUSHARA | 4.6% | 5.2% | 40 | 4.4% | | 19 | | LINCOLN | 5.1% | 6.6% | 22 | 4.6% | | 66 | | WINNEBAGO | 3.1% | 3.4% | 66 | 2.6% | | 11 | | MANITOWOC | 5.8% | 5.8% | 31 | 3.2% | | 30 | | WOOD | 4.6% | 5.1% | 43 | 3.8% | | Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Bureau of Labor Market Information and Customer Service | WISCONSIN CITIES Unemployment Rates May 2001 (Not Seasonally Adjusted) | RANK | CITY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RANK | YR AGO RATE | | | | | | | | | | 18 | | APPLETON CITY | 3.9% | 4.4% | 14 | 3.2% | | 2 | | BELOIT CITY | 9.0% | 9.3% | 2 | 8.0% | | 27 | | BROOKFIELD CITY | 2.4% | 2.4% | 25 | 2.4% | | 19 | | EAU CLAIRE CITY | 3.8% | 4.5% | 13 | 4.3% | | 9 | | FOND DU LAC CITY | 4.8% | 4.9% | 10 | 3.7% | | 23 | | FRANKLIN CITY | 2.8% | 3.0% | 22 | 2.9% | | | | | | | | | | 6 | | GREEN BAY CITY | 5.2% | 5.4% | 5 | 4.0% | | 26 | | GREENFIELD CITY | 2.5% | 2.5% | 24 | 2.5% | | 8 | | JANESVILLE CITY | 4.8% | 5.2% | 7 | 4.7% | | 7 | | KENOSHA CITY | 5.1% | 5.2% | 8 | 5.0% | | 15 | | LA CROSSE CITY | 4.1% | 4.1% | 16 | 4.1% | | 28 | | MADISON CITY | 1.8% | 1.9% | 28 | 1.9% | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | MANITOWOC CITY | 7.6% | 7.3% | 3 | 4.0% | | 24 | | MENOMONEE FALLS CITY | 2.6% | 2.4% | 26 | 2.0% | | 4 | | MILWAUKEE CITY | 7.1% | 7.0% | 4 | 7.4% | | 14 | | NEENAH CITY | 4.1% | 4.8% | 11 | 3.4% | | 25 | | NEW BERLIN CITY | 2.6% | 2.3% | 27 | 2.3% | | 21 | | OAK CREEK CITY | 3.8% | 3.7% | 21 | 3.0% | | | | | | | | | | 20 | | OSHKOSH CITY | 3.8% | 3.8% | 20 | 3.1% | | 1 | | RACINE CITY | 9.6% | 9.7% | 1 | 7.7% | | 13 | | SHEBOYGAN CITY | 4.2% | 4.1% | 18 | 3.0% | | 5 | | STEVENS POINT CITY | 5.3% | 5.4% | 6 | 4.5% | | 12 | | | | |