Wisconsin has improved to 29th in the nation in private sector job growth, according to the latest comprehensive job numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During the 12-month period from March of last year through March of this year, Wisconsin added 39,640 private-sector jobs, growing at a rate of roughly 1.7 percent. That was strong enough growth to put it in the middle of the pack among its Midwest neighbors. It grew slower than Minnesota and Michigan but faster than Iowa and Illinois.
The numbers come from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, a thorough count of job numbers from nearly all employers that economists regard as the “gold standard” of job metrics. The last time these numbers were released, Wisconsin ranked 38th among all states for private-sector job growth.
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Even with the improvement, Wisconsin still trailed the nation as a whole. The United States added private-sector jobs at a rate of 2.4 percent.
The state also released less-accurate monthly job estimates based on a small sampling of employers, showing Wisconsin’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.6 percent in July to 4.5 percent in August.
The state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday that the state added 7,200 private-sector jobs between July and August. Wisconsin’s unemployment remains below the national unemployment rate of 5.1 percent last month.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include additional reporting on the federal jobs numbers.
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