Previously reported as flat, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate for September fell to 3.4%, according to revised data from the state Department of Workforce Development.
DWD reported the state’s unemployment rate dropped even further to 3.2% in October, the lowest the state has seen since March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the nation’s economy. The national unemployment rate for October was 4.6%.
State and federal officials say a “data distortion” discovered by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Michigan affected unemployment data for several neighboring states including Wisconsin. As a result, revised numbers released Thursday show Wisconsin’s unemployment rate in September was lower than the 3.9% that was previously reported in preliminary numbers released last month.
Scott Hodek, section chief of DWD’s Office of Economic Advisors, said the unemployment drop over the past two months is a result of adjusted data and cannot be attributed to any one economic event, including the end of enhanced federal unemployment benefits on Sept. 6.
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“What we’ve seen nationwide and in statewide data, we haven’t really seen a surge in employment growth related to the end of the extended unemployment benefits either in the September or October data,” Hodek said.
Republicans and some business owners had targeted the enhanced benefits earlier this year for exacerbating the state’s workforce shortage by creating a disincentive to work, but DWD officials have said Wisconsin employers struggle to fill jobs due to a workforce gap driven by low birthrates, high retirement rates and low net migration and immigration flows into the state.
“We don’t have a lot of underutilized capacity in general,” Hodek said.
DWD’s report found that Wisconsin lost 1,000 nonfarm jobs from September to October, but added 2,000 private-sector jobs over the same span. The state’s labor participation rate of 66.4% — down from 66.5% in September — is higher than the nationwide average of 61.6%.
“We’ve been working hard over the last 18 months to put our state and economy in the best position to rebound from this pandemic,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. “This is great news for our state and our economic recovery, and I’m proud of our efforts to make sure we bounce back even better than we were before the pandemic hit.”
Wisconsin’s October unemployment report found that nonfarm seasonally adjusted jobs continue to remain relatively flat in the state at 96% of February 2020 levels.
The leisure and hospitality industry, which was hardest hit by the pandemic, was up about 27,500 jobs last month when compared with October of last year, but still remains almost 32,000 jobs lower than what the industry had two years ago.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a statement Tuesday that an outlier identified in Michigan for the survey used to create unemployment models for the entire region distorted unemployment data for several states including Wisconsin. The bureau has modified the data for September, October and future months, but earlier months in the year will be addressed during the annual revision process for 2021, which is expected to be finished in March 2022.
Hodek said it’s possible the distorted data underestimated the state’s employment rate in previous months, but added it’s too early to say for certain.
“We would be speculating at this point,” he said. “We’ll just have to wait until year-end before we see that overall trend.”
Meet the Madison area's Top Workplaces in 2020
Madison’s strong economy, marked by its diversity, workforce and historically low unemployment, is a fertile seedbed for new-company innovation and place for well-established businesses to thrive. These companies are doing just that, according to their employees.
Madison’s strong economy, marked by its diversity, workforce and historically low unemployment, is a fertile seedbed for new-company innovatio…
Who determines Top Workplaces? The best judges: the employees who work there.
Engaged leadership, a culture of building employee skills and a commitment to helping members boosted Summit Credit Union to the top spot amon…
Working in a convenience store isn’t always seen as desirable, but Kwik Trip officials say their employee benefits and choosiness in hiring ha…
EVCO Plastics, a third-generation family company, believes that the power of technology is unleashed by the right human touch.
In 1969, when LeRoy Carlson started what today is TDS Telecommunications, he was a believer in investing in employees – a value that company o…
The Waunakee Community School District draws its identity and its workplace culture from the community it serves.
Tri-North Builders Inc. was founded in Madison in 1981 as a general contracting firm and has continuously expanded services to offer pre-const…
Finding qualified, talented employees is a tough job in a low-employment landscape such as Madison’s – but keeping them is also a major challe…
Taking care of the caregivers is one of the ways that Senior Helpers built a culture of compassion among its 160 employees.
The first job at Fairway Independent Mortgage is humility.
Amtelco, a 44-year-old family-owned company, builds its corporate culture on a foundation of treating its employees, its customers and its com…
When The Douglas Stewart Company took on a demanding new contract last year, everybody chipped in by working long hours and weekends – includi…
NO. 5 MIDSIZE | FIRST CHOICE DENTAL GROUP Workplace flexibility, employee support boost patient care
Kevin Klagos has a simple formula for success in dentistry: Take care of your employees and they will reflect that same care with their patients.
Widen Enterprises Inc. builds software that empowers organizations to create compelling, meaningful and measurable digital experiences.
From groceries to financial services, the midsize company category generated a range of highly ranked firms, whose dynamic approach to workpla…
KL Engineering provides civil engineering services built around a specialization in transportation engineering.
The companies recognized in the Wisconsin State Journal’s Top Workplaces project this year possess not only vibrant workplace cultures, but in…
Dan Fitzgerald believes that enabling employees to make decisions – and learn from mistakes – drives the culture at Horizon Develop Build Mana…
Keeping creative minds engaged at the brand-building firm Shine United involves both empowering and rewarding employees.
Feeding employees’ ambitions to change a company and an industry, trust and fair compensation are the foundation of the culture at Abodo, an o…
Propeller Health emerged from a year of change with its employee culture intact and, company officials say, even stronger.
A few years back, Andy Kurth shifted his focus at Weed Man Lawn Care from being solely money driven to one of helping his employees succeed an…
Here are the rest of the top-ranked small firms in Top Workplaces 2020, reflecting a diversity in business types and workplace cultures that h…
Although all of the organizations recognized in this section have earned distinction as Top Workplaces for 2020, employees at some of them fel…
When it comes to feeling appreciated at work, what matters most to employees? If you answered “pay,” think again. Research shows pay is low on…