MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today released the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) preliminary employment estimates for the month of May 2021. The data shows that Wisconsin added 3,600 total non-farm and 3,400 private-sector jobs in the month of May. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate in May was 3.9 percent, equaling April’s rate of 3.9 percent.
Place of Residence Data: Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate in May was 66.1, 4.5 percent higher than the national rate of 61.6 percent. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate in May was 3.9 percent, while the national unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in the same month.
Place of Work Data: Wisconsin added 3,400 private-sector and 3,600 total non-farm jobs in May 2021.
“The number of people counted as employed grew by 9,300 individuals over the month, a nice gain that demonstrates that the efforts to connect job seekers to jobs in Wisconsin are working,” DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek said. “With that being said, the structural issues preventing individuals from getting into well-paying jobs that have existed not only in Wisconsin but the nation as a whole–lack of childcare and transportation barriers for example–need to be addressed if our state is going to meet the demand for workers that we have faced for decades. DWD stands ready to assist any worker who wants help finding a job, and our regional business service teams look forward to meeting with local employers to help them find good candidates to fill their open positions.”
