MADISON, Wis. — Today, the Appleton Post-Crescent highlighted how Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has returned to pre-pandemic levels and that the state’s economy is strong under Gov. Tony Evers.
Wisconsin currently has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation at 3.2% and a higher labor force participation rate than the national average.
Gov. Evers has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in small businesses and workforce development programs that are powering the state’s economic growth and creating thousands of jobs. Gov. Evers’ Main Street Bounceback program has delivered grants to over 1,000 small businesses and Gov. Evers’ workforce development investments, which total over $130 million, have created skills training and job opportunities for workers in every corner of the state.
Read more about Wisconsin’s economic strength under Gov. Evers’ common sense leadership below.
Appleton Post-Crescent: Unemployment rate continues to fall as Wisconsin economy bounces back from COVID-19 pandemic
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate dipped to pre-pandemic levels in October.
The unemployment rate in the state was 3.2% in October, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. In March 2020, when the state’s safer-at-home order first went into effect, the unemployment rate was also at 3.2% before skyrocketing to nearly 15% as businesses deemed to be “nonessential” were forced to close.
As business began reopening in the following months, the unemployment rate slowly dropped and for most of this year, sat just under 4%.
Unemployment declined in all Wisconsin’s 72 counties and all of Wisconsin’s 34 largest cities, according to the Department of Workforce Development. In much of northeastern Wisconsin, the unemployment rate is even lower than the state overall:
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Appleton: 1.8%
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De Pere: 2.1%
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Fond du Lac: 2.3%
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Green Bay: 2.4%
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Madison: 1.7%
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Manitowoc: 2.3%
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Neenah: 2.2%
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Oshkosh: 2%
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Sheboygan: 2.2%
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Stevens Point: 2.1%
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Wausau: 2.1%
As of October, Wisconsin has the 11th lowest unemployment rate in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and is lower than the national rate of 4.6%. The state’s labor force participation rate is 66.5%, nearly 5 percentage points higher than the national rate.
Even as employers across the state still struggle to find enough workers, total employment in the state increased by 3,200 workers in October.
DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek said the state’s decreasing unemployment rate shows “increased worker confidence in rejoining the workforce,” especially in the construction, manufacturing and transportation, warehousing and utilities sectors.
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