Dept. of Workforce Development: BLS Data: Wisconsin April unemployment rate 14.1 percent – 385,900 private-sector jobs lost from March – April

MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today released the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) preliminary employment estimates for the month of April 2020. The data shows that Wisconsin lost 439,400 total non-farm and 385,900 private-sector jobs from March 2020 to April 2020. Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate in April was 66.6 percent, and the state’s unemployment rate was 14.1 percent, up from 3.1 percent in March 2020.

  • Place of Residence Data: Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate in April was 66.6, 6.4 percentage points higher than the national rate of 60.2 percent. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate in April was 14.1 percent, 0.6 percentage points lower than the national rate of 14.7 percent.
  • Place of Work Data: Wisconsin lost 385,900 private-sector and 439,400 total non-farm jobs from March 2020 to April 2020. From April 2019 to April 2020, Wisconsin lost 401,900 private-sector jobs and 455,600 total non-farm jobs.

“Today’s report shows the significant impact that the COVID-19 global pandemic has had on the Wisconsin economy, and underscores the importance of rationally and safely reopening our state,” DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman said. “A strategy based on science that reduces the likelihood of additional outbreaks and further economic instability is the only way to get Wisconsin back on the path of historically low unemployment rates that the state was experiencing prior to COVID-19.”

Today’s full report can be viewed on DWD’s premier source for labor market information, WisConomy.com.