Wisconsin’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 percent in November, down from 5.4 percent in October, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
The rate is the state’s lowest since September 2008. The national rate remained flat at 5.8 percent in November.
Wisconsin added 51,000 jobs from November 2013 to November 2014 on a preliminary, seasonally adjusted basis, according to the DWD.
“With November’s addition of 16,500 private-sector jobs, along with the upward revision showing a gain of 10,900 private sector jobs during October, the latest available estimates, while preliminary, suggest the state has recovered all private sector jobs it lost during the Great Recession,” said Reggie Newson, DWD secretary. “In addition, the unemployment rate declined to a new post-Recession low of 5.2 percent, and it declined because unemployment went down, employment went up and the state’s labor force grew. Our focus must remain on talent development so the hard-working men and women of Wisconsin have the skills needed to fill jobs that are being created in our state’s improving economy.”
The numbers released by the DWD this morning were compiled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics report. That report is created from a monthly survey sent to about 3.5 percent of Wisconsin employers, and has been shown to be volatile and subject to revision. The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which includes 96 percent of Wisconsin employers and is considered by most economists to be the most accurate measure of jobs, is to be released this afternoon.
