Wisconsin Ranks 30th In Private Sector Jobs

Wisconsin ranked 30th in the nation in private sector job growth in the latest detailed numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Wisconsin added 27,597 private sector jobs between March 2016 and March 2017, for a growth rate of 1.2 percent. By comparison, the national economy added private sector jobs at a rate of 1.7 percent.

Among the state’s Midwest neighbors, Minnesota (2.2 percent) and Michigan (1.9 percent) added jobs faster than Wisconsin, while Illinois (0.7 percent) added jobs at a slower pace. Iowa (minus 0.2 percent) lost jobs.

Despite an uptick in overall private sector jobs, Wisconsin added just 833 manufacturing jobs during the 12-month timeframe. The state lost manufacturing jobs in 2016.

The numbers come from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which economists regard as the “gold standard” of job metrics. They’re drawn from the unemployment insurance records of nearly all employers, which is why they’re so accurate, and why they take so long to produce.

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate, which is drawn from a monthly survey of Wisconsin households, stood at 3.2 percent in July, which is historically low and below the national average.