MADISON – The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today announced
the following information for Wisconsin’s labor market, reflecting April 2026 preliminary
estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- Employment – There were 3,020,100 people employed in Wisconsin, up 400 over
the month and down 2,900 over the year. - Labor Force – The state’s labor force participation rate remained unchanged at
64.4% which is 2.6 percentage points above the national rate of 61.8%. - Nonfarm Jobs – The total nonfarm jobs in the state were 3,028,800, an increase of
9,000 over last month. - Unemployment – The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained
unchanged at 3.5%, which is 0.8 percentage points below the national
unemployment rate of 4.3%
