DWD: Wisconsin employment & unemployment estimates announced: October revised, November preliminary

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MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today released the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revised estimates for October and preliminary estimates for November, covering unemployment and employment statistics for the state of Wisconsin. In brief, the estimates showed:

Place of work data: Upward revision to seasonally adjusted private-sector job number in October by 1,300 to show an estimated decline of 4,700 jobs. Upward revision to seasonally adjusted total job number in October by 400 to show an estimated decline of 7,100 jobs.

Place of residence data: A preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.7 percent in November, down from 6.9 percent in October and 7.1 percent in November 2011. The rate remains below the national unemployment rate of 7.7 percent.

The BLS monthly place of work data is based on a monthly survey of approximately 5,500 Wisconsin employers (3.5 percent), called the Current Employment Statistics (CES).

BLS monthly place of residence, based on Unemployment Insurance claims and a monthly survey of 1,450 Wisconsin households (0.1 percent), data are called the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS).

Preliminary November totals for LAUS and CES will undergo further revisions in the next several weeks. Revised totals for all months in 2012 and the second half of 2011 will undergo further refinement during an annual benchmarking process in early 2013.

The most accurate count of jobs data, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), is based on a census of approximately 95-96 percent of Wisconsin employers. DWD last month submitted unemployment insurance (UI) records for the second quarter of 2012 to the federal government. The federal government will incorporate the data in its next QCEW release covering the first quarter of 2012 for all states.

Other indicators that help illustrate the state of Wisconsin’s economy include:

Department of Revenue has reported state revenue collections through November are up by 1 percent in fiscal year 2013.

Department of Financial Institutions new business formation: up this year by 8.8 percent through the first six months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011; credit union net income growth, up 96 percent in the first three quarters of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.

A decline this calendar year in initial and weekly DWD Unemployment Insurance claims.

Attached to this report are tables that show the (1) October-November LAUS and CES revisions; (2) preliminary November estimates for LAUS and CES; (3) the CES revision history for calendar year 2012; and (4) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages for the second quarter of 2012, which is the most recent data available.