| Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development News Release | |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, December 23, 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 62 counties reported lower unemployment rates last month than they had experienced in November 2002. Twenty-nine counties reported unemployment rates of 4.0 percent or less.
"Wisconsin counties and metropolitan areas continued to see improvement in the labor market last month, with 62 out of 72 counties reporting lower unemployment rates than last year," said Secretary Gassman. "While there is improvement in labor market conditions, sluggishness continues in the southeastern and eastern parts of the state, largely in manufacturing, which we continue to watch closely."
There were twenty counties in the state with unemployment rates under 4.0 percent, and nine with unemployment rates of 4.0 percent exactly. The lowest unemployment rate was recorded in Dane County at 2.2 percent. Iowa County reported 2.8 percent, Dunn County 3.1 percent and Calumet and La Crosse County 3.2 percent. The highest unemployment rate was reported in Menominee County at 9.2 percent, Door County reported a 7.7 percent rate, Oconto at 7.6 percent and Langlade County at 7.4 percent.
Considerable improvement was seen for the metropolitan statistical areas throughout the state as all 11 had lower seasonally adjusted rates in November 2003 than they had experienced last month and one year ago. The La Crosse metropolitan area reported a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.9 percent and the Madison area’s seasonally adjusted rate was 2.5 percent. Most areas of the state saw seasonally adjusted rates of 4.5 percent or lower, except the southeastern portion of the state, including Janesville/Beloit. In those areas, seasonally adjusted unemployment rates were much higher. The Kenosha metro reported 5.4 percent, Racine metro reported 7.2 percent, Milwaukee metro reported 5.6 percent and Janesville/Beloit reported a 6.1 percent seasonally adjusted rate.
Areas with a higher concentration of durable goods manufacturing are where the unemployment rates remain higher. Several areas in the state saw some slight increases in manufacturing employment – Racine was up 400 jobs over last month and was up 200 jobs over last year’s November figure. Wausau was up 200 over last month’s figure and up 400 jobs from last year’s November figure. The Green Bay metro area and the Appleton/Oshkosh metro area was also up slightly in manufacturing. The Milwaukee area, however, continues to struggle in manufacturing.
Household Survey
| Unadjusted estimates | Current | Month Ago | Year Ago |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total labor force |
3,074,600 |
3,090,500 |
3,016,100 |
|
Employed |
2,937,600 |
2,949,500 |
2,865,800 |
|
Unemployed |
137,000 |
141,000 |
150,300 |
|
Wis. Unemployment Rate |
4.5% |
4.6% |
5.0% |
|
U.S. Unemployment Rate |
5.6% |
5.6% |
5.6% |
| Seasonally adjusted | Current | Month Ago | Year Ago |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total labor force |
3,091,000 |
3,108,000 |
3,025,800 |
|
Employed |
2,937,600 |
2,940,700 |
2,857,600 |
|
Unemployed |
153,400 |
167,300 |
168,200 |
|
Wis. Unemployment Rate |
5.0% |
5.4% |
5.6% |
|
U.S. Unemployment Rate |
5.9% |
6.0% |
5.9% |
| *State current mo. Area prior mo. | Unemployment % seasonally adjusted | Current Month | Month Ago | Year Ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
27th |
Wisconsin |
5.0 |
5.4 |
5.6 |
|
86th |
Appleton-Oshkosh |
4.3 |
4.6 |
5.0 |
|
55th |
Eau Claire |
4.5 |
4.8 |
5.1 |
|
89th |
Green Bay |
4.5 |
4.6 |
5.4 |
|
233rd |
Janesville-Beloit |
6.1 |
6.3 |
6.7 |
|
178th |
Kenosha |
5.4 |
5.8 |
6.3 |
|
37th |
La Crosse |
3.9 |
4.2 |
4.3 |
|
6th |
Madison |
2.5 |
2.8 |
2.7 |
|
217th |
Milwaukee-Waukesha |
5.6 |
5.8 |
6.2 |
|
287th |
Racine |
7.2 |
7.9 |
8.2 |
|
97th |
Sheboygan |
4.3 |
4.6 |
5.0 |
|
37th |
Wausau |
4.1 |
4.6 |
4.8 |
|
||||
Unemployment Rates November 2003 (view maps)
(Not Seasonally Adjusted)
| RANK | COUNTY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RATE | YR AGO RATE | RANK | COUNTY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RATE | YR AGO RATE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
54 |
ADAMS |
3.9% |
3.4% |
64 |
5.3% |
66 |
MARATHON |
3.4% |
3.5% |
59 |
4.0% |
||
|
15 |
ASHLAND |
5.9% |
5.9% |
11 |
7.1% |
12 |
MARINETTE |
6.3% |
6.2% |
9 |
6.3% |
||
|
21 |
BARRON |
5.3% |
4.9% |
22 |
5.2% |
5 |
MARQUETTE |
7.3% |
6.2% |
10 |
8.2% |
||
|
14 |
BAYFIELD |
6.1% |
4.2% |
41 |
7.3% |
1 |
MENOMINEE |
9.2% |
9.6% |
1 |
12.0% |
||
|
46 |
BROWN |
4.0% |
4.1% |
43 |
4.8% |
13 |
MILWAUKEE |
6.1% |
6.6% |
7 |
6.8% |
||
|
51 |
BUFFALO |
4.0% |
3.4% |
65 |
4.1% |
35 |
MONROE |
4.6% |
4.5% |
29 |
4.8% |
||
|
52 |
BURNETT |
4.0% |
3.4% |
66 |
4.5% |
3 |
OCONTO |
7.6% |
7.7% |
2 |
7.6% |
||
|
68 |
CALUMET |
3.2% |
3.5% |
57 |
4.3% |
27 |
ONEIDA |
5.0% |
4.2% |
40 |
6.1% |
||
|
37 |
CHIPPEWA |
4.5% |
4.3% |
37 |
5.2% |
47 |
OUTAGAMIE |
4.0% |
4.0% |
47 |
4.5% |
||
|
26 |
CLARK |
5.0% |
4.6% |
28 |
6.0% |
56 |
OZAUKEE |
3.7% |
4.0% |
46 |
3.9% |
||
|
25 |
COLUMBIA |
5.0% |
4.9% |
21 |
5.6% |
59 |
PEPIN |
3.7% |
3.2% |
69 |
4.8% |
||
|
49 |
CRAWFORD |
4.0% |
3.7% |
52 |
4.0% |
58 |
PIERCE |
3.7% |
3.6% |
56 |
4.3% |
||
|
72 |
DANE |
2.2% |
2.4% |
72 |
2.4% |
29 |
POLK |
4.9% |
4.5% |
30 |
5.7% |
||
|
34 |
DODGE |
4.6% |
5.0% |
20 |
5.2% |
63 |
PORTAGE |
3.5% |
3.5% |
60 |
4.0% |
||
|
2 |
DOOR |
7.7% |
5.4% |
17 |
5.8% |
40 |
PRICE |
4.3% |
4.4% |
31 |
4.5% |
||
|
33 |
DOUGLAS |
4.7% |
4.8% |
23 |
4.5% |
11 |
RACINE |
6.4% |
7.0% |
5 |
7.2% |
||
|
70 |
DUNN |
3.1% |
3.0% |
70 |
3.6% |
67 |
RICHLAND |
3.4% |
3.4% |
62 |
4.4% |
||
|
61 |
EAU CLAIRE |
3.6% |
3.4% |
63 |
4.1% |
20 |
ROCK |
5.3% |
5.8% |
12 |
5.9% |
||
|
7 |
FLORENCE |
7.2% |
6.4% |
8 |
9.7% |
30 |
RUSK |
4.9% |
4.4% |
34 |
6.2% |
||
|
48 |
FOND DU LAC |
4.0% |
3.9% |
50 |
4.2% |
62 |
SAUK |
3.6% |
3.3% |
67 |
4.2% |
||
|
16 |
FOREST |
5.8% |
5.6% |
13 |
6.0% |
24 |
SAWYER |
5.2% |
3.8% |
51 |
5.5% |
||
|
60 |
GRANT |
3.6% |
3.6% |
55 |
4.6% |
36 |
SHAWANO |
4.6% |
4.4% |
33 |
4.9% |
||
|
44 |
GREEN |
4.0% |
4.3% |
35 |
4.4% |
45 |
SHEBOYGAN |
4.0% |
4.2% |
39 |
4.6% |
||
|
18 |
GREEN LAKE |
5.4% |
5.5% |
14 |
6.1% |
23 |
ST. CROIX |
5.2% |
4.7% |
27 |
5.8% |
||
|
71 |
IOWA |
2.8% |
2.5% |
71 |
3.3% |
42 |
TAYLOR |
4.3% |
3.7% |
54 |
4.6% |
||
|
8 |
IRON |
7.0% |
5.1% |
19 |
9.6% |
50 |
TREMPEALEAU |
4.0% |
3.7% |
53 |
5.1% |
||
|
64 |
JACKSON |
3.5% |
3.2% |
68 |
4.3% |
41 |
VERNON |
4.3% |
4.1% |
44 |
4.9% |
||
|
55 |
JEFFERSON |
3.8% |
3.9% |
49 |
4.2% |
17 |
VILAS |
5.6% |
4.3% |
38 |
5.4% |
||
|
6 |
JUNEAU |
7.2% |
7.2% |
4 |
8.3% |
65 |
WALWORTH |
3.4% |
3.5% |
58 |
4.3% |
||
|
31 |
KENOSHA |
4.8% |
5.2% |
18 |
5.5% |
10 |
WASHBURN |
6.5% |
5.4% |
16 |
6.2% |
||
|
19 |
KEWAUNEE |
5.4% |
5.4% |
15 |
5.6% |
43 |
WASHINGTON |
4.1% |
4.3% |
36 |
4.7% |
||
|
69 |
LA CROSSE |
3.2% |
3.4% |
61 |
3.9% |
57 |
WAUKESHA |
3.7% |
3.9% |
48 |
4.0% |
||
|
38 |
LAFAYETTE |
4.5% |
4.1% |
45 |
6.5% |
39 |
WAUPACA |
4.4% |
4.4% |
32 |
5.0% |
||
|
4 |
LANGLADE |
7.4% |
6.8% |
6 |
8.0% |
28 |
WAUSHARA |
4.9% |
4.8% |
24 |
5.9% |
||
|
22 |
LINCOLN |
5.2% |
4.8% |
25 |
5.7% |
53 |
WINNEBAGO |
3.9% |
4.1% |
42 |
4.5% |
||
|
9 |
MANITOWOC |
6.9% |
7.3% |
3 |
6.4% |
32 |
WOOD |
4.8% |
4.7% |
26 |
4.8% |
||
Unemployment Rates - November 2003
(Not Seasonally Adjusted)
| RANK | CITY | RATE | LAST RATE | LAST RANK | YR AGO RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12 |
APPLETON CITY |
5.2% |
5.4% |
11 |
6.3% |
|
3 |
BELOIT CITY |
8.4% |
8.5% |
4 |
9.3% |
|
25 |
BROOKFIELD CITY |
3.3% |
3.6% |
26 |
3.6% |
|
20 |
EAU CLAIRE CITY |
4.2% |
4.0% |
23 |
4.6% |
|
11 |
FOND DU LAC CITY |
5.3% |
5.0% |
15 |
5.4% |
|
21 |
FRANKLIN CITY |
4.0% |
4.1% |
21 |
5.0% |
|
6 |
GREEN BAY CITY |
6.2% |
6.4% |
6 |
7.6% |
|
22 |
GREENFIELD CITY |
3.8% |
4.2% |
20 |
4.0% |
|
10 |
JANESVILLE CITY |
5.3% |
6.1% |
7 |
6.1% |
|
8 |
KENOSHA CITY |
5.7% |
6.1% |
8 |
6.7% |
|
23 |
LA CROSSE CITY |
3.8% |
4.0% |
22 |
5.1% |
|
28 |
MADISON CITY |
2.3% |
2.4% |
28 |
2.6% |
|
2 |
MANITOWOC CITY |
8.8% |
9.1% |
2 |
8.1% |
|
26 |
MENOMONEE FALLS VILLAGE |
3.3% |
3.4% |
27 |
3.9% |
|
4 |
MILWAUKEE CITY |
8.3% |
9.0% |
3 |
9.4% |
|
7 |
NEENAH CITY |
5.8% |
6.1% |
9 |
6.2% |
|
27 |
NEW BERLIN CITY |
3.1% |
3.6% |
25 |
3.6% |
|
19 |
OAK CREEK CITY |
4.5% |
4.6% |
18 |
5.1% |
|
18 |
OSHKOSH CITY |
4.5% |
4.8% |
17 |
5.3% |
|
1 |
RACINE CITY |
10.0% |
11.0% |
1 |
11.8% |
|
14 |
SHEBOYGAN CITY |
4.9% |
5.3% |
12 |
5.9% |
|
15 |
STEVENS POINT CITY |
4.8% |
4.6% |
19 |
5.6% |
|
16 |
SUPERIOR CITY |
4.7% |
5.0% |
14 |
4.4% |
|
9 |
WAUKESHA CITY |
5.4% |
5.5% |
10 |
5.5% |
|
17 |
WAUSAU CITY |
4.5% |
4.9% |
16 |
5.4% |
|
24 |
WAUWATOSA CITY |
3.6% |
3.9% |
24 |
4.4% |
|
13 |
WEST ALLIS CITY |
5.1% |
5.2% |
13 |
5.8% |
|
5 |
WEST BEND CITY |
6.4% |
6.5% |
5 |
6.6% |
News Release Index
Page
Content Contact: Rose Lynch