Contact: Bill Rubin/Jacki Bradham, St. Croix EDC, 715-381-4383
Rate of 5.7% is State’s 5th-lowest; Rate Increase Follows Trends Elsewhere
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary June 2012 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties on July 25th. St. Croix County’s rate was estimated at 5.8% compared to the May rate of 4.9% and April’s rate of 5.3%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 6.1%.
DWD said 65 counties had rate declines or no change compared to a year ago. Between May and June, seven counties had a decline or no change in their rate. Rates in the remaining counties increased. Of Wisconsin’s 32 municipalities with a population of least 25,000 residents, 29 had declines in unemployment rates year over year. From May to June, all 32 municipalities had rate increases.
Four counties, Dane, Pierce, Calumet and Trempealeau had lower unemployment rates than St. Croix in June. The lowest rate in the state was in Dane (5.4%, up from May’s rate of 4.7%), followed by Pierce at 5.6% (up from 4.8%), Calumet at 5.7% (up from 5.1%), and Trempealeau, also at 5.7%. Menominee (19.3%) had the highest unemployment rate in the state, followed by Iron (10.8%), Lincoln (10.0%), Forest (also at 10.0%), and Ashland (9.7%).
St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. Pierce County’s unemployment rate for June was 5.6% (up from May’s rate of 4.8% and April’s rate of 5.1%). Polk’s rate increased from 7.8% in May to 8.3% in June (April’s rate was to 7.8%). Dunn County’s unemployment rate in June was 6.9%, up from May’s rate of 5.7% and April’s rate of 5.6%. Except for Polk which maintained the same rate, all other counties in the Greater St. Croix Valley had lower unemployment rates year over year.
The 13-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area reported an unemployment rate of 5.8% in June which is up from the May rate of 5.2% and April’s rate of 5.1%. One year ago, the unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 6.7%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in June was estimated at 7.0%, up slightly from May’s rate of 6.8% and April’s rate of 6.7%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 7.6%.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota for June was estimated at 5.6, which is the same rate as in May and April. Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted rate was 6.7% one year ago.
The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. in June was estimated at 8.2%, which is the same rate as in May and up slightly from the April rate of 8.1%. One year ago the U.S. rate was estimated at 9.1%.
June’s estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision within the next few weeks.
