St. Croix County’s Unemployment Rate Drops Again in April

On May 25th, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Interim Secretary Scott Baumbach announced the preliminary April unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties. St. Croix’s rate was estimated at 6.6 percent which is lower than the March rate of 7.5 percent and February’s rate of 7.6 percent. A year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 8.3 percent.

DWD said 70 of the state’s 72 counties had lower unemployment rates in April than in March.

Sixteen counties had unemployment rates lower than St. Croix in April. Dane County recorded the lowest rate at 4.9 percent, followed by La Crosse at 5.6 percent, Ozaukee at 5.7 percent, and Lafayette at 5.8 percent. Menominee County had the highest rate in April at 16.8 percent, followed by Iron at 13.2 percent, Vilas at 12.7 percent, and Door at 11.4 percent.

"St. Croix’s unemployment rate declined by almost a full point from March to April," said William Rubin, executive director of St. Croix Economic Development Corporation. "The three month trend is also downward, and hopefully, the momentum of the local and regional economies will continue, all of which leads to additional employment opportunities."

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in April was estimated at 7.3 percent, which is lower than the 7.4 percent rate in January through March. The state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 8.8 percent one year ago.

The preliminary unemployment rate in the U.S. in March was estimated at 9 percent which is higher than the March rate of 8.8 percent and February’s rate of 8.9 percent. One year ago the U.S. rate was estimated at 9.8 percent.

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