Wisconsin added 6,000 private sector jobs in October while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Department of Workforce Development.
The manufacturing industry was among the top gainers, adding 2,400 jobs, including 1,400 in the nondurable goods segment. Education and health services and leisure and hospitality also made gains, adding 2,100 and 2,400 jobs respectively.
The state added 10,400 nonfarm jobs in total as estimates for government employment increased 4,400, mostly at the state level.
The state’s labor force participation rate remained at 68.4 percent.
September’s report showing a loss of 8,500 private sector jobs was revised much lower to a loss of 2,700 jobs. Most of the revision came in the leisure and hospitality industry. Total nonfarm payrolls moved from a loss of 10,500 to a loss of 9,100. A downward revision to local government employment largely cancelled out the increase in the hospitality industry.
“Wisconsin saw a significant year-over-year gain in private-sector jobs with 27,900 added, along with a significant one-month increase in total manufacturing jobs,” said Department of Workforce Development Secretary Ray Allen. “Meanwhile, the number of employed Wisconsinites grew by thousands over the month and tens of thousands since October 2015, and the state unemployment rate held at a 15-year low of 4.1 percent. These indicators provide positive signs for the state of Wisconsin’s economy and, ultimately, for job creators and workers.”
The department also previewed the release of Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data for the second quarter, set to be released nationally in December.
Wisconsin added 26,313 jobs, including 25,626 in the private sector, between June 2015 and June 2016, the department said, adding that total private sector wages increased by 4.4 percent. The state did not release all of the QCEW data for the second quarter, saying it would be added to the DWD website in the coming days.
From March 2015 to March 2016, the state added 37,292 jobs, including 37,964 in the private sector. Total private sector wages were up 1.2 percent during that period.
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