St. Croix County’s August Unemployment Rate Drops

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the preliminary August 2012 unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties on September 26th. St. Croix County’s rate was estimated at 5.1% compared to the July rate of 5.4% and June’s rate of 5.8%. One year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 5.6%.

DWD said 62 counties had rate declines or no change compared to a year ago Between July and August, 69 counties had a decline or no change in their rates. Of Wisconsin’s 32 municipalities with a population of least 25,000 residents, 24 had declines in unemployment rates year over year. From July to August, all municipalities had declines in rates.

Only two counties, Dane and nearby Pierce, had lower unemployment rates than St. Croix in August. Dane had the lowest rate in the state at 5.0% (down from the July rate of 5.3% and June’s rate of 5.2%), followed by Pierce, at 5.1% (down from July’s rate of 5.3% and June’s rate of 5.6%), then St. Croix, also 5.1% (down from July’s rate of 5.4% and June’s rate of 5.8%), Iowa County at 5.2%, and Calumet at 5.4%. Menominee (21.9%) had August’s highest unemployment rate in the state, followed by Iron (10.6%), Forest (9.5%), Lincoln (9.4%), and Milwaukee (9.2%).

St. Croix, Pierce, Polk, and Dunn counties comprise Wisconsin’s Greater St. Croix Valley. In addition to the August rates for St. Croix and Pierce (above), Dunn County’s rate was 6.4% (down from July’s rate of 6.5% and June’s rate of 6.9%). Polk County’s rate in August was 7.6%, compared to July’s rate of 8.0% and June’s rate of 8.2%. All four counties in the Greater St. Croix Valley had lower unemployment rates year over year.

The 13-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI metro area reported an unemployment rate of 5.7% in August, down from July’s rate of 5.9% and June’s rate of 5.8%. One year ago, the unemployment rate in the Twin Cities was 6.2%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in August was estimated at 7.5%, up from the July rate of 7.3% and June’s rate of 7.0%. One year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 7.6%.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in Minnesota for August was estimated at 5.9%, up from July’s rate of 5.8% and June’s rate of 5.6%. Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted rate was 6.5% one year ago.

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate in the U.S. in August was estimated at 8.1%, down from July’s rate of 8.3% and June’s rate of 8.2%. One year ago the U.S. rate was estimated at 9.1%.

August’s estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision within the next few weeks.