Wisconsin lost 3,800 private sector jobs in November, but the state’s unemployment rate dipped to 4.2 percent, down from 4.3 percent in October, according to the latest seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state’s unemployment rate is lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.0 percent.
In addition to the private sector job loss, the state also lost 1,000 government jobs in November.
The state had a robust job growth month in October, and that number looked even better today as the data was revised. The BLS now says that Wisconsin added 16,600 private sector jobs in October, up from 15,100 as reported in the preliminary data last month.
Wisconsin added 33,400 private sector jobs from November 2014 to November 2015.
“Wisconsin continues to see significant year-over-year job growth under Governor Walker,” said state Department of Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson. “With revisions showing that Wisconsin had the best October for job growth in 23 years, and a labor force participation rate over 5 percent higher than the national rate in November, it is obvious that Wisconsin is working again.”
Wisconsin had a labor force participation rate of 67.8 percent in November, up from 67.6 percent in October, according to the BLS data. The U.S. labor force participation rate for November was 62.5 percent, according to BLS data.
Read more in the BizTracker, a compilation of economic data reports.