County unemployment rate tied for lowest in state
Taylor County remains tied at having the lowest unemployment rate in the state. The Department of Workforce Development last week released the October unemployment rates compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showing Taylor County tied with Lafayette County at a 1.6% unemployment rate. The previous month Taylor County was at 1.9% and in October 2020 was at 2.7%.
The DWD notes that these totals are not seasonally adjusted. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical process of removing the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends. For example, Taylor County has a significant percentage of people work in construction industries and typically there is a spike in unadjusted unemployment rates during the winter months when crews are not working.
According to the DWD, preliminary October 2021 unemployment rates declined in all 72 Wisconsin counties over the year and over the month. Thirty-eight of Wisconsin’s 72 counties experienced record low unemployment rates in the month of October.
The unemployment rate measures the percentage of people over the working age who aren’t working but who are available and actively looking for work.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide unemployment declined from 2010 to 2019. A trend of decreasing unemployment followed after a high in 2010 resulting from the 2008 financial crisis. The national unemployment rate rose again to 8.1 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced shutdowns in many areas. Nationally, the unemployment rate is at 4.6%. Wisconsin’s unemployment is currently at 3.2%, this is the lowest rate since March 2020 when the state was at 3.3%. By comparison the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate for Taylor County in March 2020 was 5.3% and by October 2020 local unemployment rates had dropped to at or below pre-pandemic levels.
Nearby counties also saw drops in unemployment rates in the past month. Clark County is at 1.7% down from 1.9% the prior month. Marathon County is at 1.8% down from 2.1% the prior month. Lincoln County is at 1.9% down from 2.3% the prior month. Price County is at 2.5% down from 3.1% the prior month. Chippewa County is at 2% down from 2.4% the prior month. Rusk County is at 2.7% down from 3.1% the prior month.
