(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly in February to 3.4% in numbers released Thursday, sitting below the 4.4% national rate for February.
March numbers are expected to be released in two weeks as the data catches up to a normal timeline following the federal shutdown late last year.
Wisconsin’s number of individuals employed rose 1,500 from January but was down 11,900 year over year. The labor force participation rate went up to 64.4%, above the 62.0% national rate.
“The Wisconsin labor market has cooled a bit, along with the national economy,” Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Section Chief of the Office of Economic Advisors Scott Hodek said.
Wisconsin manufacturing jobs were down 100 for the month and down 8,600 year over year.
Hodek said that trend matched national labor market trends but “those contractions don’t always indicate the health of the industry.”
Hodek said that manufacturers can become more efficient and see increased productivity and that, if companies have open positions that they are struggling to fill, that can also be reflected in the numbers, saying there are “mixed indicators” but manufacturing is an important sector with good-paying jobs.
