Wisconsin added 6,400 jobs in March and the state’s unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in five years, according to the latest monthly jobs tally.
The new estimate from the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) comes after a loss of nearly 4,000 jobs the month before. DWD Secretary Reggie Newson says the job growth comes as welcome news, but what the department is most excited about is the state’s unemployment rate dropping to 5.9 percent.
“Employment is up, unemployment is down and the labor force participation rate – which is a very good indicator of people that want to get back into the workforce, get back engaged looking for employment – that’s up,” said Newson.
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Newson says investments in job training and workforce development programs are making it easier for people looking for work to find it. But Newson says there’s still a lot of work to do.
“We’re going to work tirelessly to make sure that we can provide resources for every Wisconsinite to get the training and the preparation that they can to get into gainful employment and a pathway to the middle class,” said Newson.
According to the latest data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Wisconsin is ranked 35th in the nation for job creation, lagging all neighboring states except Illinois.
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