Press Releases Wisconsin Unemployment Rate Reaches Lowest Level in State History

MADISON, Wis. — Today, Governor Tony Evers and the Department of Workforce Development announced that Wisconsin’s unemployment rate reached 2.8% in December — the lowest level in state history as the economy continues to grow under Gov. Evers’ common sense leadership.

In the state’s 173-year history, the unemployment rate has never been lower and Gov. Evers has been hard at work doing what’s right for Wisconsin by creating jobs, filling openings, investing in small businesses, and attracting cutting edge companies. During his first term, Gov. Evers has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in small businesses and workforce development programs that are powering the state’s economic growth and filling job openings across the state.

Gov. Evers’ Main Street Bounceback program has delivered grants to more than 2,000 small businesses and Gov. Evers’ workforce development programs, which total over $130 million, have created long-term skills training and job opportunities for workers in every corner of the state. There is still more work to be done, that’s why in December, Gov. Evers announced 12 regional workforce development projects that are designed to create local solutions for workers across the state. Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 66.4% in December, 4.5 percentage points higher than the national rate of 61.9%.

Wisconsin is leading the way with one of the lowest unemployment rates and highest labor force participation rates in the nation — a stunning accomplishment that even the Republican National Committee has previously complimented Gov. Evers on.

See below for more on Wisconsin’s 173-year low unemployment rate.

AP: Wisconsin unemployment hits record low of 2.8%

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate hit a record low of 2.8% in December, after tying the previous low of 3% in November, the state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday.

The state rate is below the national unemployment rate of 3.9% for December. Wisconsin gained 5,300 private sector jobs in December. The number of people counted as unemployed in Wisconsin, 86,200, also hit a record low, the department reported.

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Gov. Tony Evers has also devoted federal pandemic relief money toward the worker shortage problem, including $130 million for job training programs and local efforts to develop long-term solutions to the labor shortage and $60 million for workforce development grants.