Wisconsin lost 2,900 private sector jobs in January and the state’s unemployment rate declined to 3%, according to figures released by the Department of Workforce Development.
Data for employment in various industries and the unemployment rate comes from two separate surveys, allowing for a decline in both employment and the unemployment rate.
The decline in jobs, which comes from a survey of employers, was driven primarily by the loss of 3,200 jobs in the state's health care and social assistance sector. Durable goods manufacturing in Wisconsin also lost 2,100 jobs and professional and business services dropped by 1,400.
On the other hand, employment in nondurable goods manufacturing in the state was up 1,200, retail trade employment increased 1,900, arts, entertainment and recreation employment was up 1,300, and transportation, warehousing and utility employment increased 1,000.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, Wisconsin’s private sector employment is still down by more than 75,000 compared to pre-pandemic, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The level of recovery differs across industry. Employment in accommodation and food service, for example, is down 18,600, a 7.6% decrease. Health care is also down 25,900, a 6.3% decrease. Retail trade, on the other hand, is down less than the state as a whole at 2.2% or 6,500 jobs. In manufacturing, the nondurable goods sector in the state is up 1.3%, or 2,600 jobs, and the durable goods sector is down 7,700 jobs or 2.7%.
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate for January was 3%, down from a revised figure of 3.1% in December. Preliminary data had put the state unemployment rate at 2.8% in December.
The 3% rate for January is 1.5 percentage points lower than the same time last year, according to revised BLS figures.
However, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate remained unchanged year-over-year at 66.4%. It had climbed to a recent peak of 66.7% in July and is better than the pre-pandemic level of 66.1%.
