WisBusiness: Wisconsin unemployment among best in Midwest

By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com


MADISON – Wisconsin unemployment rates are continuing to fall, dropping from 4.6 percent
in July to 4.4 percent in August, according to a federal report released Wednesday.


From August of last year, when the jobless rate was 5.3 percent, the Wisconsin job scene has
improved considerably, said Terry Ludeman, the chief labor economist for the Wisconsin
Department of Workforce Development.


Elsewhere in the Midwest, unemployment rates ranged from a high of 6.2 percent in Michigan to
a low of 4.2 percent in Iowa.


“The Wisconsin economy is building back up again,” Ludeman said. “We saw a little movement at
the beginning of the year, and by April you could see solid gains.”


He predicted the unemployment rate would stay low through the rest of the year, though he
declined to make any predictions for 2005.


Most of the state is gaining jobs, the report showed.


And while jobless figures declined this month for the Racine area, the Milwaukee area and Janesville-
Beloit – where the unemployment figure fell from 8 percent in July to 5.8 percent in August –
Ludeman said those communities are still struggling.


According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Racine’s jobless rate for August was 6.6
percent, an improvement from July’s 7.2 percent.


For Milwaukee-Waukesha, the unemployment figure was 5.2 percent, down slightly from 5.3 percent
last month.


The brightest spot on the job scene in August was Sheyboygan, where BLS figures showed jobless
rates dropped to 3.5 percent from 4.7 percent in July.



The metropolitan area with the lowest unemployment figure was Madison at 2.3 percent.
Other areas with low rates are Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, 3.8 percent; Eau Claire, 4 percent;
Green Bay, 3.9 percent; La Cross, 3.2 percent; and Wausau, 3.6 percent.