Dane County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, DWD says
MADISON, Wis. -- The Madison metro area has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state, according to data released Wednesday by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, showing the job remains extremely competitive in the area.
After announcing last week the statewide unemployment rate dipped to a record-low 2.5% in March, the department provided more detailed numbers Wednesday at the county and municipal levels.
The DWD says preliminary, not seasonally-adjusted numbers show the unemployment rate for the Madison metro area was at 1.7% in March, lower than the 1.9% unemployment rate recorded in February and the 2.3% unemployment rate a year ago.
That 1.7% unemployment rate would also be the lowest among Wisconsin's largest metropolitan areas. The Sheboygan (1.8%) and Appleton (1.9%) metro areas were the only others in the state to record preliminary, not seasonally-adjusted unemployment rates below 2% in March. The Janesville-Beloit metro area saw a March unemployment rate of 2.9%.
Preliminary data also suggest the unemployment in the City of Madison -- excluding surrounding municipalities that are included in the metro area numbers -- is even lower at 1.5% for March. Fitchburg saw a preliminary unemployment rate of 1.7% in the last month, while Sun Prairie was at 1.8%.
In Rock County, Janesville saw a March unemployment rate of 2.6%, while Beloit was at 3.4%. The county as a whole came in at 2.9%, while Dane County as a whole had an unemployment rate of 1.6% -- the lowest for a county in the entire state.
Adams County had the highest unemployment rate in Wisconsin at 5.4% for March, but even that came with good news in that it represented a full 1% drop in unemployment month-over-month in the county that is home to fewer than 21,000 people.
Statewide, the DWD says the unemployment rate either decreased or stayed the same in all 72 counties over the last month.