St. Croix County’s May Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.7 Percent

On June 22nd, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Scott Baumbach announced the preliminary May unemployment rates for Wisconsin’s 72 counties. St. Croix’s rate was estimated at 5.7% compared to the April rate of 6.6% and March’s rate of 7.5%. A year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was estimated at 7.1%.

DWD said 49 of the state’s 72 counties had lower unemployment rates in May compared to April.

Only five counties had unemployment rates lower than St. Croix in May. Dane County recorded the lowest rate at 5.1% (up from 4.9% in April), followed by Pepin at 5.6%, Pierce at 5.6%, Buffalo at 5.7%, and La Crosse at 5.7%. Menominee County had the highest rate in May at 18.1% (up from16.8%), followed by Iron at 10.9%, Rusk at 10.6%, and Vilas at 10.2%.

“St. Croix’s unemployment rate is down again,” said William Rubin, executive director of St. Croix Economic Development Corporation. “It has fallen over the last few months which reflects a growing economy. St. Croix’s rate of 5.7% is even below the May unemployment rate of 6.3% for the thirteen county metro area.”

The preliminary (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate for Wisconsin in May was estimated at 7.4%, which is up slightly from April’s rate of than the 7.3% rate. May’s rate for the state is the same as the rate reported for January through March. The state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 8.5% one year ago.

The preliminary unemployment rate in the U.S. in May was estimated at 9.1%, up slightly from April’s rate of 9.0% and up slightly more than the March rate of 8.8%. One year ago the U.S. rate was estimated at 9.6%.

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