Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

Wednesday, April 24, 2002 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

MARCH LOCAL EMPLOYMENT FIGURES RELEASED

MADISON - Fifty-two of Wisconsin's seventy-two counties saw some improvement in their March unemployment rates in figures released by the Department of Workforce Development. Six counties saw no change from their February rates, and fourteen had higher rates in March than they had in February. The state's unadjusted rate dropped from 6.7 percent in February to 6.5 percent in March, while the seasonally-adjusted rate dropped from 5.8 to 5.7 percent.

"Even as many economic signals begin to look more positive, Wisconsin's job market is yet to show the kind of positive movement evident in other economic indicators," DWD Secretary Reinert said. "Though it is normal for job markets to respond slowly to economic recovery, it is a necessary component to sustained economic growth," she said.

Ten of the State's eleven Metropolitan Statistical Areas saw slight improvement in their rates while one, Dane County, remained unchanged from its February rate of 3.1 percent.

The northern counties, particularly those north of a line between Green Bay and Minnesota's Twin Cities, had generally the highest rates in the state as would be expected this time of the year. Nine counties in the northern tier of the state had rates above 10.0 percent in March.

The highest unemployment rate in the state was once again Juneau County, at 13.4 percent, followed closely by Ashland and Menominee at 12.3 percent and Rusk County at 12.1 percent. Dane County had the state's lowest rate at 3.1 percent, unchanged from the February rate. Ozaukee County at 4.2 percent and Waukesha at 4.9 percent were next in line.

The greatest improvement in the state was registered in Pepin County, where the rate was 11.2 percent in February and 9.5 percent in March. Adams County, where the rate dropped from 8.0 percent to 7.1 percent, saw the second greatest improvement. Menominee County, where the unemployment rate rose from 11.7 percent to 12.3 percent, had the state's largest increase.

"Manufacturing continues to be the hardest hit industrial sector in the state, and areas with a particularly strong manufacturing presence saw less improvement in unemployment rates," said DWD Economist Terry Ludeman. "In general, labor markets throughout the state appear to be recovering very slowly from a very difficult year the state has experienced," he said.

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 Employment and Labor Force
Household Survey

Unadjusted estimates	Mar. 2002	Feb. 2002	Mar. 2001
Total labor force	3,049,800	3,051,500	2,960,800
Employed	2,851,100	2,846,800	2,805,200
Unemployed	198,700	204,600	155,600
Wis. Unemployment Rate	6.5%	6.7%	5.3%
U.S. Unemployment Rate	6.1%	6.1%	4.6%

 

Seasonably adjusted	Mar. 2002	Feb. 2002	Mar. 2001
Total labor force	3,075,700	3,080,400	2,986,600
Employed	2,900,400	2,902,000	2,854,200
Unemployed	175,200	178,400	132,500
Wis. Unemployment	5.7%	5.8%	4.4%
U.S. Unemployment	5.7%	5.5%	4.3%

 

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March State Rank *February Area Rank	Unemployment % seasonally adjusted	Mar. 2002	Feb. 2002	Mar. 2001
32nd	Wisconsin	5.7	5.8	4.4
214th	Appleton-Oshkosh	5.0	5.0	3.4
268th	Eau Claire	5.4	5.8	4.3
196th	Green Bay	4.8	4.9	3.5
285th	Janesville-Beloit	7.4	7.1	6.4
220th	Kenosha	5.8	5.7	4.9
149th	La Crosse	4.2	4.0	3.9
17th	Madison	2.6	2.5	2.0
233rd	Milwaukee-Waukesha	6.0	6.1	4.4
297th	Racine	7.5	7.6	6.3
226th	Sheboygan	5.3	5.4	3.4
245th	Wausau	4.9	4.8	4.3
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 March 2002 Unemployment Rates by County

WISCONSIN COUNTIES Unemployment Rates March 2002 Not Seasonally Adjusted)     RANK COUNTY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR    AGO  RATE RANK COUNTY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR    AGO  RATE    45 ADAMS 7.1% 8.0% 39 6.6% 51 MARATHON 6.6% 6.7% 55 5.8% 2 ASHLAND 12.3% 12.7% 2 9.9% 17 MARINETTE 9.5% 9.5% 19 8.3% 33 BARRON 8.0% 8.5% 31 8.6% 6 MARQUETTE 10.8% 11.5% 5 10.8% 11 BAYFIELD 10.0% 10.5% 12 9.6% 3 MENOMINEE 12.3% 11.7% 4 9.9% 67 BROWN 5.5% 5.8% 66 4.0% 46 MILWAUKEE 7.0% 7.1% 51 5.4% 50 BUFFALO 6.6% 7.0% 52 5.4% 49 MONROE 6.7% 7.3% 46 6.7% 20 BURNETT 9.3% 9.6% 17 7.5% 8 OCONTO 10.2% 11.0% 8 7.8% 56 CALUMET 6.3% 6.8% 54 4.1% 25 ONEIDA 9.0% 8.8% 27 7.9% 18 CHIPPEWA 9.4% 9.9% 14 7.4% 59 OUTAGAMIE 6.2% 6.2% 61 4.3% 5 CLARK 11.4% 11.1% 7 11.8% 71 OZAUKEE 4.2% 4.5% 71 2.9% 40 COLUMBIA 7.6% 8.1% 38 6.6% 15 PEPIN 9.5% 11.2% 6 9.0% 39 CRAWFORD 7.7% 8.0% 41 7.4% 58 PIERCE 6.2% 6.4% 57 4.8% 72 DANE 3.1% 3.1% 72 2.4% 14 POLK 9.6% 9.9% 15 8.9% 47 DODGE 6.8% 7.1% 50 5.5% 55 PORTAGE 6.3% 6.9% 53 5.7% 24 DOOR 9.2% 9.3% 23 8.4% 29 PRICE 8.6% 8.5% 33 9.9% 32 DOUGLAS 8.1% 8.3% 36 6.4% 31 RACINE 8.3% 8.5% 32 7.0% 52 DUNN 6.5% 7.3% 45 5.5% 48 RICHLAND 6.7% 7.6% 44 7.3% 66 EAU CLAIRE 5.6% 5.8% 67 4.6% 41 ROCK 7.6% 7.9% 42 6.6% 7 FLORENCE 10.8% 10.6% 11 9.2% 4 RUSK 12.1% 12.0% 3 10.1% 53 FOND DU LAC 6.5% 6.6% 56 5.1% 62 SAUK 6.0% 5.9% 65 5.0% 12 FOREST 9.8% 9.5% 20 9.2% 27 SAWYER 8.8% 8.7% 30 9.0% 43 GRANT 7.3% 7.2% 48 8.4% 38 SHAWANO 7.7% 8.3% 34 6.7% 37 GREEN 7.8% 7.7% 43 6.6% 63 SHEBOYGAN 5.8% 6.2% 58 3.7% 16 GREEN LAKE 9.5% 9.8% 16 7.1% 26 ST. CROIX 8.9% 8.9% 26 6.3% 57 IOWA 6.3% 6.2% 62 5.9% 22 TAYLOR 9.2% 10.1% 13 10.5% 13 IRON 9.7% 9.6% 18 9.2% 30 TREMPEALEAU 8.5% 8.7% 28 8.3% 42 JACKSON 7.5% 8.0% 40 8.1% 36 VERNON 7.8% 8.2% 37 7.5% 65 JEFFERSON 5.6% 5.9% 63 4.5% 21 VILAS 9.3% 9.2% 24 9.3% 1 JUNEAU 13.4% 13.7% 1 11.1% 61 WALWORTH 6.0% 6.2% 59 4.2% 60 KENOSHA 6.1% 6.2% 60 5.2% 9 WASHBURN 10.2% 10.8% 9 9.3% 54 KEWAUNEE 6.4% 7.1% 49 5.1% 64 WASHINGTON 5.7% 5.9% 64 4.3% 69 LA CROSSE 5.1% 5.1% 69 4.7% 70 WAUKESHA 4.9% 5.0% 70 3.4% 23 LAFAYETTE 9.2% 9.4% 21 7.7% 44 WAUPACA 7.2% 7.3% 47 5.9% 10 LANGLADE 10.2% 10.6% 10 9.3% 34 WAUSHARA 8.0% 8.3% 35 7.2% 19 LINCOLN 9.4% 9.4% 22 7.8% 68 WINNEBAGO 5.4% 5.6% 68 3.6% 35 MANITOWOC 7.9% 9.0% 25 6.2% 28 WOOD 8.7% 8.7% 29 7.6%

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

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WISCONSIN CITIES Unemployment Rates March 2002 (Not Seasonally Adjusted) RANK CITY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR  AGO RATE             11 APPLETON CITY 7.5% 7.5% 14 4.8% 2 BELOIT CITY 10.9% 10.9% 3 9.9% 27 BROOKFIELD CITY 3.6% 3.7% 27 2.5% 17 EAU CLAIRE CITY 6.3% 6.6% 17 5.2% 7 FOND DU LAC CITY 8.3% 8.4% 8 6.3% 22 FRANKLIN CITY 5.2% 5.4% 22 3.5% 5 GREEN BAY CITY 8.6% 9.0% 5 6.2% 26 GREENFIELD CITY 4.0% 4.2% 26 3.0% 15 JANESVILLE CITY 7.0% 7.6% 13 6.1% 13 KENOSHA CITY 7.3% 7.4% 15 6.4% 19 LA CROSSE CITY 6.1% 6.0% 20 5.7% 28 MADISON CITY 3.1% 3.1% 28 2.4% 4 MANITOWOC CITY 9.5% 10.9% 2 7.5% 25 MENOMONEE FALLS CITY 4.3% 4.6% 24 2.7% 3 MILWAUKEE CITY