Unemployment drops in most of state

Unemployment rates dropped in May in 61 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, according to the state Department of Workforce Development.

The only Northeast Wisconsin county where unemployment increased from April to May was Sheboygan County, increasing from 3.8 percent to 3.9 percent. Unemployment rates stayed the same in Brown, Florence and Winnebago counties.

“In May, Wisconsin’s labor market continued to see the steady overall month-to-month improvement it has experienced the past several months,” said Roberta Gassman, secretary of the Department of Workforce Development. “We continue to see the expected seasonal job increases that occur when the weather warms and spring hiring begins. Wisconsin’s economy overall is holding up better than many parts of the nation.”

Unemployment rates dropped or stayed the same between April and May in all but one of Northeast Wisconsin’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas — Appleton, from 4.3 percent to 3.9 percent; Fond du Lac, from 4.1 percent to 4 percent; Green Bay, from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent; Oshkosh–Neenah, 4 percent; and Sheboygan, from 3.8 percent to 3.9 percent.

County unemployment rates in Northeast Wisconsin, with state rank and the 2007, April 2008 and May 2008 unemployment rates:

1, Menominee, 9% in 2007, 10% in April 2008, 9.1% in May 2008; 15, Marinette, 5.8%, 5.3%, 5%; 19, Oconto, 5.5%, 5.9%, 4.9%; 25, Florence, 6%, 4.7%, 4.7%; 26, Marquette, 5.2%, 5.4%, 4.6%; 27, Green Lake, 4.9%, 5.3%, 4.6%; 31, Waupaca, 4.9%, 5.1%, 4.5%; 32, Door, 5%, 5.6%, 4.4%; 34, Shawano, 5%, 4.9%, 4.3%; 35, Waushara, 5.1%, 4.7%, 4.3%; 39, Manitowoc, 5.1%, 4.4%, 4.2%; 41, Brown, 4.5%, 4.1%, 4.1%; 46, Outagamie, 4.5%, 4.4%, 4%; 47, Fond du Lac, 4.5%, 4.1%, 4%; 48, Winnebago, 4.6%, 4%, 4%; 55, Sheboygan, 4.1%, 3.8%, 3.9%; 61, Kewaunee, 4.3%, 3.9%, 3.6%; 62, Calumet, 4.6%, 3.7%, 3.6%.

City unemployment rates in Northeast Wisconsin, with state rank and the 2007, April 2008 and May 2008 unemployment rates:

5, Green Bay, 6.7% in 2007, 6.2% in April 2008, 6.1% in May 2008; 8, Appleton, 5.6%, 5.6%, 5.2%; 13, Sheboygan, 4.9%, 4.9%, 4.9%; 14, Manitowoc, 6%, 5.2%, 4.8%; 15, Fond du Lac, 5.4%, 4.9%, 4.6%; 18, Oshkosh, 5.1%, 4.3%, 4.3%; 20, Neenah, 4.6%, 4.1%, 4.1%.

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in May, down from 4.4 percent in April and 4.7 percent in 2007.