Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

Wednesday, March 27, 2002 Governor Scott McCallum Secretary Jennifer Reinert

News Media Contact Rachel Biittner 608/266-8710 e-mail: news@dwd.state.wi.us fax: 608/266-1784

MADISON – All seventy-two counties in Wisconsin had higher unemployment rates in preliminary February estimates compared to January, and only seven counties experienced lower rates compared to last year at this time, according to figures released today by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD).

Dane County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 3.1 percent, the highest rate for that county since February of 1991 when the rate was 3.3 percent. Thirteen counties in the state had unemployment rates over 10 percent for February, with Juneau County being the highest at 13.8 percent.

"Somewhat hidden by the high unemployment rates in Wisconsin, is the fact that actual claims for unemployment benefits continue to drop compared to the high levels experienced at the end of 2001 and first few weeks of 2002," said DWD Secretary Jennifer Reinert.

For the first six weeks of 2002, the average number of initial claims for unemployment insurance was 18,444 per week. In the most recent six weeks, the average has been 14,347. Job losses in the manufacturing sector also seem to be moderating compared with most of the past year. During the first six weeks of 2002, initial unemployment claims in the manufacturing sector averaged 7,710 per week, while in the last six weeks that number has decreased to 6,290.

Most of the state’s higher unemployment rate can be attributed to an increase in the number of job seekers in February, said DWD Labor Economist Terry Ludeman. The number of people estimated to be employed dropped by only 4,964 between January and February. Last year, that figure was 17,585. The increase in job seekers has been felt throughout the state.

"As reports continue to surface about a recovering economy, more workers feel confident to look for work. This is reflected in the higher unemployment rates," said Ludeman.

The number of people employed in Wisconsin decreased from 2,851,100 in January to 2,846,100 in February, a decrease of 5,000. This compares to 2,798,500 people employed one year ago.

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 Employment and Labor Force
Household Survey

Unadjusted estimates	Feb. 2002	Jan. 2002	Feb. 2001
Total labor force	3,050,100	3,028,100	2,956,700
Employed	2,846,100	2,851,100	2,798,500
Unemployed	204,000	177,100	158,100
Wis. Unemployment Rate	6.7%	5.8%	5.3%
U.S. Unemployment Rate	6.1%	6.3%	4.6%

 

Seasonably adjusted	Feb. 2002	Jan. 2002	Feb. 2001
Total labor force	3,079,000	3,067,300	2,986,400
Employed	2,901,200	2,909,200	2,854,200
Unemployed	177,700	158,000	132,200
Wis. Unemployment	5.8%	5.2%	4.4%
U.S. Unemployment	5.5%	5.6%	4.2%

 

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January State Rank *December Area Rank	Unemployment % seasonally adjusted	Feb. 2002	Jan. 2002	Feb. 2001
26th	Wisconsin	5.8	5.2	4.4
137th	Appleton-Oshkosh	4.9	4.6	3.3
234th	Eau Claire	5.7	4.9	4.8
126th	Green Bay	4.9	4.5	3.5
264th	Janesville-Beloit	7.0	6.3	7.0
167th	Kenosha	5.6	4.9	4.7
114th	La Crosse	4.0	3.7	3.7
9th	Madison	2.5	2.4	1.9
167th	Milwaukee-Waukesha	6.1	5.5	4.4
274th	Racine	7.5	6.7	5.8
126th	Sheboygan	5.4	4.7	3.4
167th	Wausau	4.8	4.3	4.4
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

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Maps of February 2002 Unemployment Rates by County

WISCONSIN COUNTIES Unemployment Rates February 2002 Not Seasonally Adjusted)     RANK COUNTY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR    AGO  RATE RANK COUNTY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR    AGO  RATE    41 ADAMS 7.9% 6.9% 41 7.0% 56 MARATHON 6.6% 5.5% 60 6.1% 2 ASHLAND 12.6% 11.3% 2 10.3% 19 MARINETTE 9.5% 8.3% 17 8.2% 32 BARRON 8.4% 7.3% 33 8.3% 5 MARQUETTE 11.5% 10.2% 4 11.4% 12 BAYFIELD 10.5% 9.2% 11 9.5% 4 MENOMINEE 11.7% 11.0% 3 9.1% 67 BROWN 5.8% 5.0% 65 4.1% 50 MILWAUKEE 7.1% 6.3% 47 5.4% 52 BUFFALO 7.0% 5.8% 55 5.9% 47 MONROE 7.2% 6.5% 46 6.3%    17 BURNETT 9.6% 8.5% 14 7.5% 8 OCONTO 11.0% 9.6% 6 8.0% 54 CALUMET 6.8% 5.9% 52 4.0% 27 ONEIDA 8.8% 7.4% 29 8.0% 14 CHIPPEWA 9.9% 8.7% 13 8.2% 59 OUTAGAMIE 6.2% 5.3% 62 4.3% 7 CLARK 11.1% 9.5% 7 12.3% 71 OZAUKEE 4.5% 4.0% 71 2.8% 38 COLUMBIA 8.1% 7.3% 31 6.9% 6 PEPIN 11.2% 9.1% 12 9.9% 42 CRAWFORD 7.9% 6.2% 48 7.6% 57 PIERCE 6.4% 5.7% 56 4.8%   72 DANE 3.1% 2.8% 72 2.4% 15 POLK 9.8% 8.2% 20 8.4% 49 DODGE 7.1% 6.6% 44 5.3% 53 PORTAGE 6.9% 6.1% 49 5.8% 23 DOOR 9.3% 8.2% 19 8.7% 33 PRICE 8.4% 7.0% 39 11.8% 35 DOUGLAS 8.3% 7.2% 35 6.9% 31 RACINE 8.5% 7.6% 26 6.6% 48 DUNN 7.2% 5.9% 53 5.7% 44 RICHLAND 7.5% 6.1% 50 7.1% 66 EAU CLAIRE 5.8% 5.0% 64 4.9% 40 ROCK 7.9% 7.2% 34 7.8%   10 FLORENCE 10.6% 9.4% 8 10.6% 3 RUSK 12.0% 9.4% 9 12.5% 55 FOND DU LAC 6.6% 5.8% 54 5.2% 63 SAUK 5.9% 5.5% 58 5.1% 20 FOREST 9.5% 7.8% 25 8.4% 29 SAWYER 8.7% 8.0% 22 8.9% 45 GRANT 7.4% 6.8% 43 7.5% 36 SHAWANO 8.3% 7.1% 37 6.8% 43 GREEN 7.7% 6.6% 45 7.0% 60 SHEBOYGAN 6.2% 5.0% 67 3.9% 16 GREEN LAKE 9.7% 8.3% 18 7.8% 26 ST. CROIX 8.9% 7.0% 40 5.9%   58 IOWA 6.2% 5.6% 57 6.0% 13 TAYLOR 10.2% 8.5% 15 10.5% 18 IRON 9.5% 8.4% 16 8.4% 28 TREMPEALEAU 8.7% 8.1% 21 8.6% 39 JACKSON 8.0% 7.3% 30 7.6% 37 VERNON 8.2% 7.3% 32 8.0% 64 JEFFERSON 5.9% 5.0% 66 4.7% 24 VILAS 9.2% 8.0% 23 8.7% 1 JUNEAU 13.8% 12.5% 1 11.0% 62 WALWORTH 6.1% 5.3% 61 4.5% 61 KENOSHA 6.1% 5.5% 59 5.2% 9 WASHBURN 10.9% 9.7% 5 9.1%   51 KEWAUNEE 7.1% 6.0% 51 5.8% 65 WASHINGTON 5.8% 5.1% 63 3.9% 69 LA CROSSE 5.1% 4.6% 69 4.6% 70 WAUKESHA 5.0% 4.3% 70 3.3% 22 LAFAYETTE 9.4% 7.2% 36 7.5% 46 WAUPACA 7.3% 6.8% 42 6.0% 11 LANGLADE 10.5% 9.3% 10 9.7% 34 WAUSHARA 8.3% 7.4% 28 7.3% 21 LINCOLN 9.4% 7.8% 24 8.6% 68 WINNEBAGO 5.6% 4.9% 68 3.7% 25 MANITOWOC 9.0% 7.6% 27 7.1% 30 WOOD 8.7% 7.1% 38 8.1%

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
Bureau of Labor Market Information and Customer Service

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WISCONSIN CITIES Unemployment Rates February 2002 (Not Seasonally Adjusted) RANK CITY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR  AGO RATE             14 APPLETON CITY 7.5% 6.6% 12 4.9% 3 BELOIT CITY 10.8% 9.6% 2 10.7% 27 BROOKFIELD CITY 3.7% 3.2% 27 2.4% 17 EAU CLAIRE CITY 6.6% 5.8% 17 5.6% 8 FOND DU LAC CITY 8.4% 7.4% 7 6.3% 22 FRANKLIN CITY 5.3% 4.7% 22 3.6%   5 GREEN BAY CITY 9.0% 7.7% 6 6.4% 26 GREENFIELD CITY 4.2% 3.5% 26 2.7% 13 JANESVILLE CITY 7.5% 6.8% 10 7.9% 15 KENOSHA CITY 7.3% 6.7% 11 6.3% 20 LA CROSSE CITY 6.0% 5.5% 18 5.6% 28 MADISON CITY 3.1% 2.8% 28 2.4%   2 MANITOWOC CITY 10.9% 9.2% 3 9.0% 24 MENOMONEE FALLS CITY 4.6% 4.0% 24 2.6% 4 MILWAUKEE CITY 9.6% 8.6% 4 7.6% 9 NEENAH CITY 8.0% 7.1% 9 5.3% 25 NEW BERLIN CITY 4.4% 3.8% 25 2.8% 21 OAK CREEK CITY 5.9% 5.3% 21 4.1% 19 OSHKOSH CITY 6.4% 5.5% 19 4.1% 1 RACINE CITY 12.2% 11.4% 1 10.2% 10 SHEBOYGAN CITY 7.9% 6.4% 14 5.1% 6 STEVENS POINT CITY 8.7% 7.9% 5 7.5% 11 SUPERIOR CITY 7.8% 6.5% 13 6.3% 16 WAUKESHA CITY 6.7% 6.1% 16 4.5% 12 WAUSAU CITY 7.6% 6.3% 15 6.3% 23 WAUWATOSA CITY 4.7% 4.1% 23 3.4% 18 WEST ALLIS CITY 6.5% 5.4% 20 4.4% 7 WEST BEND CITY 8.7% 7.3% 8 5.4%

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
Bureau of Labor Market Information and Customer Service

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WISCONSIN LABOR FORCE SUMMARY IN THOUSANDS         Net Change From ITEM Prelim. Feb. 2002 Final  Jan.   2002 Year Ago Feb. 2001 Month Ago  Year Ago              PLACE OF RESIDENCE DATA               CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE 3050.1 3028.1 2956.7 22.0 93.4   UNEMPLOYMENT 204.0 177.1 158.1 26.9 45.9   UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 6.7 5.8 5.3 0.9 1.4   EMPLOYMENT (1) 2846.1 2851.1 2798.5 -5.0 47.6             PLACE OF WORK DATA           NONFARM WAGE & SALARY 2758.7 2752.4 2777.9 6.3 -19.2   MANUFACTURING 565.7 567.9 595.4 -2.2 -29.7   DURABLE GOODS 337.2 338.3 362.7 -1.1 -25.5      Lumber and Wood Products 31.4 31.3 30.8 0.1 0.6      Furniture and Fixtures 19.1 19.1 18.7 0.0 0.4      Stone, Clay & Glass Products 10.5 10.5 10.4 0.0 0.1      Primary Metal Industries 22.5 22.4 24.8 0.1 -2.3      Fabricated Metal Products 61.6 61.6 65.3 0.0 -3.7      Nonelectrical Machinery 96.4 97 106.2 -0.6 -9.8