Wisconsin added 8,000 private sector jobs in February, according to preliminary U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by the Department of Workforce Development.
About half of the increase was driven by the educational and health services sector, which gained 4,100 jobs in February. Trade, transportation, warehousing and utilities, construction and financial activities also made significant job gains. But professional and business services and manufacturing were the largest sources of job loss.
Also, the January private sector job counts were revised to reflect a 5,800 job gain last month. The data initially showed a 1,400-job loss in January.
The month-to-month jobs data is compiled from Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Current Employment Statistics reports, which sample a small number of employers and households to create an estimate and can be subject to volatility and revision.
For the year ending in February 2016, Wisconsin added 35,300 private sector jobs, according to the DWD.
Wisconsin’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.6 percent in February, below the national February rate of 4.9 percent.
“The monthly job estimates reflect a dramatic swing from an initially reported decline in January to gains during the first two months of 2016, reinforcing the value of looking at a variety of indicators to understand the complete picture of Wisconsin’s economy,” said Ray Allen, secretary of the DWD. “In February, our labor force participation rate grew and we had more Wisconsinites working than ever before. Early indications show our labor market is off to a strong start in 2016.”
Read more economic data reports on the BizTracker page.
