Department of Workforce Development

MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today announced the state’s preliminary unemployment rate for the month of September dropped to 3.4 percent, down from the official rate for the month of August, which stood at 4.0 percent, and a full one percent drop from July’s 4.4 percent. The nation’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.9 percent to 4.7 percent in September. Rates for the month of September over the last ten years have averaged 3.5 percent. Wisconsin’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 4.3 percent in August to 4.0 percent, while the national rate held steady at 4.9 percent in September.

"Overall last month we saw continued improvement in Wisconsin unemployment as the rate declined for the third consecutive month to 3.4 percent," said DWD Secretary Jennifer Reinert. "The positive news that we report this month of declining unemployment is tempered by the continued softness in manufacturing, which remains a concern, as do the aftereffects of September 11," she said.

Officials said that more accurate figures regarding the events of September 11 would not be present until October’s statistics are released because the attacks occurred during the same week in which employment statistics are gathered.

Wisconsin workers and firms continue to experience softness in the manufacturing sectors, especially in the highly cyclical durable goods sector. Since last year in September, there has been a loss of 27,100 jobs in manufacturing, and 21,900 of the lost jobs have been in the more volatile durable goods manufacturing sector. Manufacturing jobs decreased by 6,100 since August. It is not out of the norm to see a loss of manufacturing jobs between August and September. The norm is approximately 5,000 jobs.

Other industries experiencing losses in the number of jobs over the month included construction, trade, services, and finance, insurance and real estate. Once again, it is not out of the norm to see these industries drop the number of jobs, as many workers return to school and firms pare back their workforce. The government sector grew as school districts throughout the State began their more normal work schedules.

County employment and unemployment figures for September should be available on 
October 24.  This release is available on the department Internet site at: http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/lmi

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