Dept. of Workforce Development: BLS data, Wisconsin employment numbers released

MADISON – The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today announced 3,049,500 total nonfarm jobs in the state, according to May 2025 preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Preliminary employment estimates for May 2025 showed Wisconsin’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained the same at 3.3% over last month, which is 0.9 percentage points below the national unemployment rate of 4.2%. The state’s labor force participation rate ticked down to 65.3% in May while the national rate decreased slightly to 62.4%, marking Wisconsin’s participation rate 2.9 percentage points above the rest of the nation.

  • Place of Residence Data: Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 3.3% in May, 0.9 percentage points below the national rate of 4.2%. Wisconsin’s labor force decreased by 7,700 over the month and 9,400 over the year. The number of people employed decreased 8,400 over the month to 3,058,300 employed, down 20,300 over the year.
  • Place of Work Data: Total nonfarm jobs decreased 1,000 over the month and increased 14,600 over the year to 3,049,500 jobs.

Additional information about the data included in the release is available at Wisconomy.com.