(The Center Square) – Nine Wisconsin counties currently have the lowest unemployment rate on record.
Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Door, Langlade, Oconto, Pepin, Rock and Sawyer counties currently have between 1.9% and 2.7% non-adjusted rates while the state has a 2.9% seasonally adjusted rate and a record 3.1 million employed.
“Record-breaking low unemployment across nine largely rural counties, many of them in Northern Wisconsin, shows that the economy we are building provides real opportunities for workers,” Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek said in a statement. “All areas of Wisconsin and all sectors of our economy—agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and more—benefit from connecting employers with a skilled workforce and ensuring a level field for success.”
The numbers come as U.S. Census Bureau data shows Wisconsin also had a record high 189,194 working-age individuals with disabilities employed in 2023.
Unemployment rate numbers decreased or stayed the same in all 12 of the state’s metropolitan statistical areas both for the month and year over year.
The same is true for 34 of Wisconsin’s largest 35 cities that saw lower rates from the prior month while all 35 went down year over year.
The unemployment rate improved or stayed the same in 70 of 72 counties over the month while 71 counties saw their rate stay even or improve year over year.
“Record-low unemployment in nine counties, including eight largely rural northern counties, is no small feat, and it certainly is no accident,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. “These record-breaking numbers represent real working families, businesses, and communities across our state and are a testament to our state’s hard-working people, our innovative industries, and our efforts to reduce barriers to work for folks to succeed and stay in the workforce, such as access to job training, child care, transit, housing, and more.
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