Contact: Rose Lynch (608) 266-6753
Adjusted Data
Madison – Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Roberta Gassman today announced that the preliminary September seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Wisconsin is 4.6 percent, unchanged from the August rate, below last year’s September rate of 4.7 percent and better than the national seasonally adjusted rate of 5.1 percent. While Wisconsin’s rate remained unchanged from August to September, the national rate rose in September to 5.1 percent, up from the August rate of 4.9 percent. Last year the national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 5.4 percent.
Unadjusted Data
Wisconsin’s unadjusted unemployment rate for September, estimated at 4.0 percent and below the August rate of 4.3 percent, continued to show a stronger economic recovery for Wisconsin than for the nation. While the national September rate was down slightly from the August rate of 4.9 percent, the national September rate of 4.8 percent is well above Wisconsin’s 4.0 percent rate. Wisconsin’s unadjusted rate for September 2004 was 4.1; again, well below last year’s rate.
“Our unemployment numbers this month are further indication that the state’s economy is improving. We had the fewest number of unemployed workers this month than any month since September 2001. Our Wisconsin unemployment rate is lower than the national rate, an indication that Wisconsin’s economy is gaining strength over the rest of the country,” Secretary Gassman said. “We have had twenty-one consecutive months of job gains over the previous year’s monthly total.”
The number of Wisconsin residents who are employed is estimated at 2,925,777, down slightly from the August figure of 2,927,703 and the September 2004 figure of 2,935,194. The number of people in the labor force in Wisconsin in September is estimated at 3,047,320 compared to 3,057,766 in August. The labor force and employment normally contract slightly in September as many young people move out of the labor market as the school year begins.
Nonfarm wage and salary jobs were estimated at 2,850,800 for September, up 17,200 jobs from last September’s figure for the state. September marks twenty-one consecutive months of job gains over the previous year’s monthly total. That follows a period of almost three years of uninterrupted job losses.
Employment in construction, financial activities, education and health services, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality services were up, while employment in manufacturing, trade, transportation and utilities, other services, and government were all down slightly from one year ago.
Construction in the state is well on its way to a record year for monthly employment averages.
September employment and unemployment figures for individual counties will be available October 26, 2005. This release also is available at http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/newsreleases/.
