Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

Wednesday, May 22, 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

APRIL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT FIGURES RELEASED

MADISON – Seventy of Wisconsin’s seventy-two counties saw some improvement in their April unemployment rates in figures released by the Department of Workforce Development. Thirty-eight counties had declines of 1 percent or more while nine saw their unemployment rates drop by at least 2 percent. The state’s unadjusted rate dropped from 6.5 percent in March to 5.7 percent in April, while the seasonally-adjusted rate dropped from 5.7 to 5.4 percent.

"Labor market conditions improved over most of the state last month with declining unemployment in nearly every county and metropolitan area in Wisconsin," DWD Secretary Reinert said. "Though it is too early to declare victory over the nation’s struggling economic performance over the past year, there is much to be excited about in this month’s report for Wisconsin," she said.

Wisconsin cities also faired well in this month’s report as each of the state’s 28 largest cities had decreases in unemployment rates in April.

Seven of the state’s eleven metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) saw a decrease in seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, including the state’s largest labor market, the Milwaukee metropolitan statistical area. Two MSAs remained unchanged from March figures, the Madison MSA and the Green Bay MSA. Two metro areas, La Crosse and Eau Claire, saw very slight increase in seasonally adjusted rates. La Crosse went from 4.2 percent in March to 4.3 percent in April, while Eau Claire increased from 5.4 percent in March to 5.7 percent in April.

The greatest improvement was seen in Door County, where the unemployment rate fell from 9.2 percent to 6.2 percent, though Rusk and Pepin County were close behind with decreases from 12.1 percent to 9.2 percent and from 9.6 percent to 6.8 percent, respectively. A number of counties with the largest decreases were ones located in the northern tier of the state.

Unemployment insurance claims continue to moderate. Initial claims in the latest five-week period are below the totals for a like period one-year ago.

Some strength in hiring was seen in most industrial sectors throughout the state.

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 Employment and Labor Force
Household Survey

Unadjusted estimates	Apr. 2002	Mar. 2002	Apr. 2001
Total labor force	3,047,100	3,051,300	2,968,800
Employed	2,873,600	2,851,900	2,826,500
Unemployed	173,500	199,400	142,200
Wis. Unemployment Rate	5.7%	6.5%	4.8%
U.S. Unemployment Rate	5.7%	6.1%	4.2%

 

Seasonably adjusted	Apr. 2002	Mar. 2002	Apr. 2001
Total labor force	3,066,200	3,077,200	2,988,300
Employed	2,899,700	2,901,200	2,852,800
Unemployed	166,500	175,900	135,500
Wis. Unemployment	5.4%	5.7%	4.5%
U.S. Unemployment	6.0%	5.7%	4.5%

 

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April State Rank *March Area Rank	Unemployment % seasonally adjusted	Apr. 2002	Mar. 2002	Apr. 2001
28th	Wisconsin	5.4	5.7	4.5
221st	Appleton-Oshkosh	4.9	5.0	3.7
277th	Eau Claire	5.7	5.4	4.8
190th	Green Bay	4.8	4.8	3.7
294th	Janesville-Beloit	7.1	7.5	6.8
235th	Kenosha	5.7	5.9	4.6
152nd	La Crosse	4.3	4.2	3.7
18th	Madison	2.6	2.6	1.9
244th	Milwaukee-Waukesha	5.7	6.0	4.5
307th	Racine	7.2	7.5	6.4
215th	Sheboygan	5.2	5.3	3.7
264th	Wausau	4.8	4.9	4.0
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 April 2002 Unemployment Rates by County

WISCONSIN COUNTIES Unemployment Rates April 2002 Not Seasonally Adjusted)     RANK COUNTY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR    AGO  RATE RANK COUNTY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR    AGO  RATE    51 ADAMS 5.4% 7.0% 45 4.8% 57 MARATHON 5.1% 6.6% 50 4.3% 3 ASHLAND 11.9% 12.4% 2 9.5% 22 MARINETTE 7.7% 9.6% 16 7.5% 30 BARRON 7.0% 8.1% 33 7.6% 14 MARQUETTE 8.6% 10.8% 7 8.1% 7 BAYFIELD 9.4% 10.0% 11 8.7% 1 MENOMINEE 14.1% 12.2% 3 12.2% 63 BROWN 5.0% 5.6% 67 3.9% 36 MILWAUKEE 6.6% 7.0% 46 5.4% 55 BUFFALO 5.2% 6.6% 51 4.9% 52 MONROE 5.4% 6.7% 49 5.0% 16 BURNETT 8.3% 9.3% 21 6.2% 9 OCONTO 9.2% 10.2% 9 7.3% 54 CALUMET 5.3% 6.3% 57 4.4% 19 ONEIDA 8.0% 9.0% 26 9.1% 15 CHIPPEWA 8.4% 9.4% 19 6.9% 49 OUTAGAMIE 5.5% 6.2% 59 4.1% 11 CLARK 8.7% 11.4% 5 9.4% 71 OZAUKEE 3.9% 4.2% 71 2.9% 42 COLUMBIA 6.0% 7.6% 40 5.5% 32 PEPIN 6.8% 9.6% 15 6.8% 44 CRAWFORD 5.9% 7.7% 38 6.7% 59 PIERCE 5.1% 6.3% 56 4.5% 72 DANE 2.7% 3.1% 72 2.0% 17 POLK 8.2% 9.7% 14 8.0% 45 DODGE 5.9% 6.8% 47 4.9% 48 PORTAGE 5.5% 6.3% 58 4.8% 39 DOOR 6.2% 9.2% 22 6.7% 21 PRICE 7.8% 8.6% 30 10.3% 29 DOUGLAS 7.1% 8.2% 32 5.8% 25 RACINE 7.3% 8.3% 31 6.6% 47 DUNN 5.5% 6.5% 53 5.1% 53 RICHLAND 5.3% 6.7% 48 6.0% 62 EAU CLAIRE 5.0% 5.6% 66 4.3% 35 ROCK 6.7% 7.6% 42 6.4% 10 FLORENCE 8.8% 11.1% 6 8.6% 8 RUSK 9.2% 12.1% 4 8.9% 56 FOND DU LAC 5.2% 6.5% 52 4.3% 67 SAUK 4.6% 6.0% 61 4.2% 5 FOREST 9.5% 9.9% 12 10.3% 23 SAWYER 7.7% 8.9% 27 8.2% 46 GRANT 5.8% 7.4% 43 6.4% 28 SHAWANO 7.2% 7.7% 39 6.1% 40 GREEN 6.2% 7.8% 36 5.6% 60 SHEBOYGAN 5.1% 5.9% 63 3.7% 26 GREEN LAKE 7.2% 9.5% 17 5.9% 20 ST. CROIX 7.9% 9.1% 25 5.6% 70 IOWA 4.3% 6.3% 55 4.3% 24 TAYLOR 7.5% 9.2% 24 7.6% 2 IRON 12.0% 9.8% 13 11.0% 27 TREMPEALEAU 7.2% 8.6% 29 7.2% 43 JACKSON 6.0% 7.6% 41 6.1% 34 VERNON 6.7% 7.8% 37 5.6% 65 JEFFERSON 4.9% 5.6% 65 3.9% 13 VILAS 8.7% 9.4% 20 8.8% 4 JUNEAU 11.8% 13.4% 1 9.6% 61 WALWORTH 5.0% 6.0% 62 3.6% 50 KENOSHA 5.5% 6.2% 60 4.6% 12 WASHBURN 8.7% 10.2% 8 8.3% 58 KEWAUNEE 5.1% 6.4% 54 4.3% 66 WASHINGTON 4.8% 5.7% 64 3.8% 68 LA CROSSE 4.4% 5.1% 69 3.7% 69 WAUKESHA 4.4% 4.9% 70 3.2% 31 LAFAYETTE 6.9% 9.2% 23 5.8% 41 WAUPACA 6.2% 7.2% 44 5.3% 6 LANGLADE 9.4% 10.2% 10 9.4% 37 WAUSHARA 6.4% 8.0% 34 5.9% 18 LINCOLN 8.2% 9.4% 18 7.2% 64 WINNEBAGO 5.0% 5.4% 68 3.7% 33 MANITOWOC 6.8% 7.9% 35 6.3% 38 WOOD 6.3% 8.7% 28 5.5%

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

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WISCONSIN CITIES Unemployment Rates April 2002 (Not Seasonally Adjusted) RANK CITY RATE LAST RATE LAST RANK YR  AGO RATE             9 APPLETON CITY 6.9% 7.5% 12 4.8% 2 BELOIT CITY 10.0% 11.0% 2 10.3% 27 BROOKFIELD CITY 3.4% 3.7% 27 2.6% 17 EAU CLAIRE CITY 5.8% 6.3% 17 4.9% 10 FOND DU LAC CITY 6.8% 8.3% 7 5.3% 22 FRANKLIN CITY 4.5% 5.2% 22 3.3% 5 GREEN BAY CITY 7.8% 8.6% 5 6.0% 26 GREENFIELD CITY 3.6% 4.0% 26 2.7% 14 JANESVILLE CITY 6.2% 7.0% 15 5.8% 11 KENOSHA CITY 6.7% 7.4% 13 5.8% 20 LA CROSSE CITY 5.4% 6.1% 19 4.5% 28 MADISON CITY 2.8% 3.1% 28 2.1% 4 MANITOWOC CITY 8.6% 9.5% 4 7.9% 25 MENOMONEE FALLS CITY 3.9% 4.3% 25 2.6% 3 MILWAUKEE CITY 9.1% 9.6% 3 7.5% 7 NEENAH CITY 7.5% 8.0% 9 5.2% 24 NEW BERLIN CITY