Wisconsin’s total number of private-sector jobs increased 12,400 from June to July but the state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9%, according to data released by the Department of Workforce Development.
It is the best monthly jobs gain for Wisconsin since December 2020, but the state is still 86,200 jobs short of its February 2020 level.
The state did see a 0.1 percentage point increase in its labor force participation rate. The rate is now at 66.4%, up from 65.5% at the same time in 2020. The national labor force participation rate is at 61.7%.
The state’s job growth during the month was driven by the service sectors. Educational and health services added 4,200 jobs, including 3,300 in educational services. Leisure and hospitality also added 4,000 jobs, including 2,700 in accommodation and food service and 1,300 in arts, entertainment and recreation. Wholesale trade also added 2,000 positions.
In goods producing sectors, manufacturing added 2,300 positions, led by 1,400 in durable goods manufacturing and 900 in nondurable goods. The construction sector lost 100 positions in total during the month.
More than half of the remaining job loss compared to pre-pandemic levels comes from the leisure and hospitality sector, where employment is still down by 49,600, a 17% decrease. Within that sector, arts, entertainment and recreation is down 14,900 or 33% while accommodation and food service is down 34,700 or 14%.
