Wisconsin reports record employment, jobs at record high

MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) – The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says the state set a record for employment for the fourth straight month.

The DWD says Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is 2.9%, based on preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for August. That’s slightly less than the seasonally adjusted rate of 3.0% in July. It’s 1.3 percentage points under the national average, 4.2%.

County figures for unemployment aren’t available yet. In July they ranged from 2.6% in Kewaunee County to 6.1% in Menominee County.

The number of non-farm jobs filled reached an all-time high of 3,047,300 in August. That’s 11,600 more jobs than in July and 35,300 new jobs since the start of the year.

The DWD says the fastest growing jobs in the state are software developers, industrial machinery mechanics, construction laborers, and tractor-trailer or heavy truck drivers.

The fields with the greatest projected needs, based on people retiring or leaving the field, are tractor-trailer and heavy truck drivers, wholesale or manufacturing sales representatives, general maintenance and repair workers, and construction laborers.

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