September Unemployment Rates Stay Steady

Editor's Report

By Mike Larson -- Western Builder, 11/17/2008

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development have just released the September unemployment figures as I write this column in late October.

The statistics say that the state’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.7 percent in August to 4.4 percent in September, an improvement of 0.3 percent.

And this September’s 4.4-percent rate is only 0.1 percent higher than last September’s 4.3 percent.

Unemployment rates went down in each of the state’s 12 metropolitan statistical areas in September, compared to August.

The Madison area had the lowest rate in September at 3.4. The Janesville area recorded the highest rate at 6.4percent.

The construction sector accounted for 128,200 jobs in September, down 4,500 jobs compared to August’s 132,700.

Although that’s not good, Wisconsin is definitely doing better than many other states across the region and country, according to the recent state and national reports.

For September, Michigan’s unemployment was 8.3 percent, Minnesota’s was 5.7 percent, Indiana’s stood at 5.8 percent, and Illinois’ was 6.5 percent.