Wisconsin lost 2,800 private sector jobs in October and the state’s unemployment rate increased a tenth to 3.2%, accordingly to the latest seasonally adjusted data released by the state Department of Workforce Development.
“It might be a slowdown, but I’m not looking at a dip in economic activity,” said Dennis Winters, chief economist at DWD. “This is one month. I’m not putting a trend into one month.”
Private sector employment in the state is up by 24,500 compared to October 2022, a 0.95% increase. Wisconsin's unemployment rate a year ago was 3%.
While the number of initial and weekly unemployment claims in the state has been running ahead of last year’s figures in recent weeks, the numbers are below 2021 and at or below pre-pandemic levels.
Winters said there’s no reason to think there will be dramatic shifts in the labor market heading into 2024.
“If we can keep the job levels healthy and the wage levels healthy, we should be able to keep the entire economy healthy,” he said.
One area where Wisconsin has seen a dramatic shift over the past year is labor force participation, which has increased 1.2 percentage points to be at 65.8% as of October. The reading was unchanged from September.
The loss of jobs from September to October in Wisconsin was concentrated in a few main areas. Manufacturing lost 1,200 jobs, including 700 in nondurable goods and 500 in durable goods. Construction also shed 900 positions, leaving goods producing industries down 2,100.
Year-over-year, manufacturing employment is down 7,500, including 5,400 in durable goods manufacturing.
In service industries, leisure and hospitality lost 3,000 jobs in the state from September to October, including 2,000 in accommodation and food service and another 1,000 in arts, entertainment and recreation.
Year-over-year, leisure and hospitality employment is up 6,000 in Wisconsin.
Professional and business services was a bright spot for the month, adding 1,500 positions from September to October.
