Wisconsin added 13,100 private sector jobs in March dropping the state’s unemployment rate to 4.5 percent and pushing the number of people employed in the state over 3 million for the first time, according to the Department of Workforce Development.
Department secretary Ray Allen said the new data, combined with revisions to February figures, gives Wisconsin the best 12-month stretch of job growth since 2004. The state added 10,500 private sector jobs in February, which was revised up by 2,500 from the initial report.
The state added 29,400 private sector jobs for the first quarter of the year, according to the seasonally-adjusted data.
The seasonally adjusted data is based on employer and household surveys and is not necessarily as accurate as the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which covers 96 percent of all businesses in the state. The most recent version of that data goes through September.
The state’s job gains in March were led by a growth of 4,200 manufacturing jobs, including 3,600 in durable goods. The professional and business services segment was up 4,100. Leisure and hospitality and construction also showed strong gains at 2,400 and 1,300 respectively.
Previously released data showed the United States as a whole added 215,000 jobs in March, although the national unemployment rate ticked up to 5 percent with more people joining the workforce.
The national job gains were tempered by a loss of 29,000 manufacturing jobs.
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