| Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development News Release | |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, November 25, 2003 Governor Jim Doyle Secretary Roberta Gassman |
News Media Contact Rose Lynch 608/266-6753 Terry Ludeman (608) 267-3262 Actuality Line (866) 556-7623 e-mail: news@dwd.state.wi.us fax: 608/266-1784 |
Madison – Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Roberta Gassman today announced that 39 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties had lower unemployment rates in October of 2003 than they had reported for October of 2002, seven counties were unchanged, and 26 had higher rates in October this year than last year.
"Wisconsin experienced more improvement in its labor market last month as 59 counties had lower unemployment rates and five were unchanged from September to October," Secretary Gassman said. "Even more encouraging is the significant number of counties reporting lower rates than one year ago and the growing number of counties with rates under four percent. Though we are certainly not out of the woods, we are pleased to see this positive movement in the state’s labor market," Gassman said.
Twenty-five counties had unemployment rates of 3.9 percent or lower led by Dane County at 2.4 percent, Iowa County at 2.5 percent, Dunn County at 3.0 percent and Jackson County at 3.1 percent. Ten counties in the state had unemployment rates greater than 6.0 percent. Menominee County had the highest rate for October at 9.6 percent followed by Oconto at 7.6 percent. Juneau and Manitowoc counties both reported 7.3 percent unemployment rates.
With few exceptions, the eastern part of the state had higher unemployment rates, while the western part of the state had lower rates. The area adjacent to and right around La Crosse was particularly noteworthy, with very low rates in several counties. The paper-producing areas in the Fox Valley have been experiencing higher than normal unemployment rates, although the Green Bay Metro Area appears to be faring quite well.
For Wisconsin’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas, seven had seasonally adjusted rates lower than 4.9 percent and the other four had seasonally adjusted rates 5.8 percent or higher. The Madison Metro Area had the State’s lowest seasonally adjusted rate at 2.8 percent, while the Racine Metro Area had the State’s highest seasonally adjusted rate at 7.8 percent. Six of the eleven areas had lower seasonally adjusted rates than they had last year, while three were up from one year ago. Two were unchanged. The areas with a high concentration of durable goods manufacturing generally are the areas where unemployment figures were highest. Notable exceptions were the Sheboygan Metro Area and the Wausau Metro Area, where, in spite of considerable concentrations of durable goods manufacturing, unemployment rates were quite low.
Household Survey
|
Unadjusted estimates |
Current |
Month Ago |
Year Ago |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total labor force |
3,094,200 |
3,088,800 |
3,016,300 |
|
Employed |
2,953,400 |
2,937,800 |
2,877,400 |
|
Unemployed |
140,800 |
151,000 |
138,800 |
|
Wis. Unemployment Rate |
4.6% |
4.9% |
4.6% |
|
U.S. Unemployment Rate |
5.6% |
5.8% |
5.3% |
|
Seasonally adjusted |
Current |
Month Ago |
Year Ago |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total labor force |
3,111,600 |
3,106,500 |
3,027,200 |
|
Employed |
2,944,500 |
2,929,000 |
2,861,000 |
|
Unemployed |
167,100 |
177,500 |
166,200 |
|
Wis. Unemployment Rate |
5.4% |
5.7% |
5.5% |
|
U.S. Unemployment Rate |
6.0% |
6.1% |
5.8% |
|
*State current mo. Area prior mo. |
Unemployment % seasonally adjusted |
Current Month |
Month Ago |
Year Ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
27th |
Wisconsin |
5.4 |
5.7 |
5.5 |
|
108th |
Appleton-Oshkosh |
4.6 |
5.1 |
5.0 |
|
78th |
Eau Claire |
4.8 |
5.4 |
5.0 |
|
98th |
Green Bay |
4.6 |
4.9 |
5.1 |
|
250th |
Janesville-Beloit |
6.3 |
6.9 |
6.2 |
|
193rd |
Kenosha |
5.8 |
6.2 |
5.9 |
|
30th |
La Crosse |
4.2 |
4.0 |
4.2 |
|
7th |
Madison |
2.8 |
3.0 |
2.7 |
|
242nd |
Milwaukee-Waukesha |
5.8 |
6.2 |
5.9 |
|
294th |
Racine |
7.8 |
8.3 |
7.7 |
|
91st |
Sheboygan |
4.6 |
4.7 |
4.6 |
|
54th |
Wausau |
4.6 |
4.8 |
4.7 |
|
||||
(Not Seasonally Adjusted)
| RANK | COUNTY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RATE | YR AGO RATE | RANK | COUNTY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RATE | YR AGO RATE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
63 |
ADAMS |
3.4% |
3.7% |
60 |
4.1% |
62 |
MARATHON |
3.4% |
3.8% |
57 |
3.6% |
|||
|
11 |
ASHLAND |
5.9% |
5.6% |
17 |
5.8% |
10 |
MARINETTE |
6.1% |
6.4% |
9 |
5.5% |
|||
|
21 |
BARRON |
4.9% |
4.9% |
29 |
4.3% |
9 |
MARQUETTE |
6.2% |
6.0% |
11 |
6.4% |
|||
|
40 |
BAYFIELD |
4.2% |
4.2% |
48 |
4.1% |
1 |
MENOMINEE |
9.6% |
10.6% |
1 |
12.4% |
|||
|
45 |
BROWN |
4.1% |
4.3% |
44 |
4.4% |
7 |
MILWAUKEE |
6.6% |
7.1% |
7 |
6.6% |
|||
|
64 |
BUFFALO |
3.4% |
3.7% |
61 |
2.9% |
29 |
MONROE |
4.5% |
5.7% |
14 |
4.6% |
|||
|
65 |
BURNETT |
3.4% |
3.5% |
67 |
4.2% |
2 |
OCONTO |
7.6% |
8.7% |
2 |
6.9% |
|||
|
55 |
CALUMET |
3.6% |
4.0% |
52 |
3.8% |
39 |
ONEIDA |
4.2% |
4.3% |
45 |
5.1% |
|||
|
36 |
CHIPPEWA |
4.3% |
4.5% |
38 |
4.6% |
46 |
OUTAGAMIE |
4.0% |
4.5% |
37 |
4.4% |
|||
|
28 |
CLARK |
4.6% |
4.9% |
27 |
4.7% |
47 |
OZAUKEE |
4.0% |
4.3% |
43 |
3.6% |
|||
|
22 |
COLUMBIA |
4.9% |
4.8% |
33 |
4.8% |
68 |
PEPIN |
3.2% |
3.6% |
65 |
3.5% |
|||
|
53 |
CRAWFORD |
3.7% |
4.0% |
54 |
3.5% |
57 |
PIERCE |
3.6% |
3.7% |
64 |
4.1% |
|||
|
72 |
DANE |
2.4% |
2.6% |
72 |
2.3% |
30 |
POLK |
4.5% |
5.2% |
20 |
4.7% |
|||
|
20 |
DODGE |
5.0% |
5.1% |
23 |
4.7% |
59 |
PORTAGE |
3.5% |
3.7% |
63 |
3.3% |
|||
|
16 |
DOOR |
5.4% |
5.6% |
15 |
3.0% |
32 |
PRICE |
4.4% |
4.9% |
26 |
4.2% |
|||
|
25 |
DOUGLAS |
4.8% |
4.8% |
32 |
3.8% |
5 |
RACINE |
6.9% |
7.4% |
4 |
6.8% |
|||
|
70 |
DUNN |
3.0% |
3.5% |
66 |
3.1% |
61 |
RICHLAND |
3.4% |
3.8% |
56 |
4.3% |
|||
|
60 |
EAU CLAIRE |
3.4% |
3.9% |
55 |
3.5% |
12 |
ROCK |
5.7% |
6.1% |
10 |
5.7% |
|||
|
8 |
FLORENCE |
6.4% |
7.3% |
5 |
9.5% |
31 |
RUSK |
4.5% |
4.7% |
35 |
4.9% |
|||
|
48 |
FOND DU LAC |
3.9% |
4.4% |
39 |
4.1% |
67 |
SAUK |
3.3% |
3.3% |
70 |
3.6% |
|||
|
14 |
FOREST |
5.5% |
5.1% |
24 |
5.6% |
51 |
SAWYER |
3.8% |
4.1% |
51 |
3.7% |
|||
|
56 |
GRANT |
3.6% |
4.0% |
53 |
3.9% |
33 |
SHAWANO |
4.4% |
4.8% |
31 |
4.7% |
|||
|
35 |
GREEN |
4.3% |
5.0% |
25 |
4.2% |
41 |
SHEBOYGAN |
4.2% |
4.2% |
49 |
4.2% |
|||
|
15 |
GREEN LAKE |
5.5% |
4.6% |
36 |
4.7% |
27 |
ST. CROIX |
4.6% |
5.8% |
13 |
5.2% |
|||
|
71 |
IOWA |
2.5% |
3.0% |
71 |
3.0% |
54 |
TAYLOR |
3.7% |
3.8% |
58 |
3.4% |
|||
|
18 |
IRON |
5.1% |
5.9% |
12 |
6.0% |
52 |
TREMPEALEAU |
3.7% |
4.1% |
50 |
4.0% |
|||
|
69 |
JACKSON |
3.1% |
3.3% |
69 |
3.7% |
43 |
VERNON |
4.1% |
4.4% |
40 |
4.1% |
|||
|
50 |
JEFFERSON |
3.9% |
4.2% |
47 |
3.8% |
37 |
VILAS |
4.3% |
3.8% |
59 |
3.1% |
|||
|
3 |
JUNEAU |
7.3% |
7.8% |
3 |
7.4% |
58 |
WALWORTH |
3.5% |
3.7% |
62 |
4.0% |
|||
|
19 |
KENOSHA |
5.1% |
5.5% |
18 |
5.2% |
13 |
WASHBURN |
5.5% |
5.4% |
19 |
4.8% |
|||
|
17 |
KEWAUNEE |
5.4% |
5.6% |
16 |
5.5% |
38 |
WASHINGTON |
4.2% |
4.4% |
42 |
4.7% |
|||
|
66 |
LA CROSSE |
3.3% |
3.4% |
68 |
3.5% |
49 |
WAUKESHA |
3.9% |
4.2% |
46 |
3.9% |
|||
|
42 |
LAFAYETTE |
4.1% |
4.8% |
30 |
6.3% |
34 |
WAUPACA |
4.4% |
4.7% |
34 |
4.4% |
|||
|
6 |
LANGLADE |
6.8% |
7.1% |
8 |
6.5% |
24 |
WAUSHARA |
4.8% |
5.1% |
22 |
4.8% |
|||
|
23 |
LINCOLN |
4.8% |
5.2% |
21 |
5.0% |
44 |
WINNEBAGO |
4.1% |
4.4% |
41 |
4.3% |
|||
|
4 |
MANITOWOC |
7.3% |
7.2% |
6 |
5.8% |
26 |
WOOD |
4.7% |
4.9% |
28 |
4.2% |
|||
(Not Seasonally Adjusted)
|
RANK |
CITY |
RATE |
LAST RATE |
LAST RANK |
YR AGO RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
11 |
APPLETON CITY |
5.4% |
6.1% |
11 |
6.1% |
|
4 |
BELOIT CITY |
8.4% |
8.9% |
4 |
9.3% |
|
25 |
BROOKFIELD CITY |
3.6% |
4.0% |
24 |
3.6% |
|
22 |
EAU CLAIRE CITY |
4.0% |
4.4% |
21 |
4.1% |
|
14 |
FOND DU LAC CITY |
5.0% |
6.1% |
10 |
5.4% |
|
21 |
FRANKLIN CITY |
4.1% |
4.3% |
23 |
4.5% |
|
6 |
GREEN BAY CITY |
6.4% |
6.8% |
6 |
7.1% |
|
20 |
GREENFIELD CITY |
4.2% |
4.9% |
19 |
3.8% |
|
9 |
JANESVILLE CITY |
6.1% |
6.4% |
9 |
5.7% |
|
8 |
KENOSHA CITY |
6.1% |
6.6% |
8 |
6.4% |
|
23 |
LA CROSSE CITY |
4.0% |
4.3% |
22 |
4.8% |
|
28 |
MADISON CITY |
2.4% |
2.8% |
28 |
2.6% |
|
2 |
MANITOWOC CITY |
9.1% |
9.1% |
3 |
7.1% |
|
27 |
MENOMONEE FALLS VILLAGE |
3.4% |
3.9% |
26 |
3.5% |
|
3 |
MILWAUKEE CITY |
9.0% |
9.7% |
2 |
9.2% |
|
7 |
NEENAH CITY |
6.1% |
6.8% |
5 |
6.4% |
|
26 |
NEW BERLIN CITY |
3.6% |
3.8% |
27 |
3.6% |
|
19 |
OAK CREEK CITY |
4.6% |
5.3% |
16 |
4.9% |
|
17 |
OSHKOSH CITY |
4.8% |
4.8% |
20 |
4.7% |
|
1 |
RACINE CITY |
10.8% |
11.4% |
1 |
11.1% |
|
12 |
SHEBOYGAN CITY |
5.3% |
5.4% |
15 |
5.4% |
|
18 |
STEVENS POINT CITY |
4.6% |
5.4% |
14 |
4.8% |
|
15 |
SUPERIOR CITY |
5.0% |
5.3% |
18 |
3.8% |
|
10 |
WAUKESHA CITY |
5.5% |
5.8% |
12 |
5.6% |
|
16 |
WAUSAU CITY |
4.9% |
5.3% |
17 |
5.0% |
|
24 |
WAUWATOSA CITY |
3.9% |
4.0% |
25 |
4.3% |
|
13 |
WEST ALLIS CITY |
5.2% |
5.5% |
13 |
5.6% |
|
5 |
WEST BEND CITY |
6.5% |
6.8% |
7 |
6.2% |
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Content Contact: Rose Lynch