In some Wisconsin counties, unemployment is below pre-Great Recession levels, but in much of the Northwoods, the rate remains double the lower averages.
The April unemployment rate in Oneida county was 6.2 percent, Forest and Vilas counties have the state's fourth highest rate at 8.2 percent, Langlade is at 6 percent, Lincoln county at 5.2 percent, Price county at 5.1 percent. Iron county has the state's highest rate at 10.8 percent.
State Labor Economist Scott Hodek says seasonal employment always factors into the northern counties. While he says the unemployment rates here are mostly lower from one year ago...Iron county is the exception...in some parts of northern Wisconsin more people are back in the work force...
"....if you look at the year-to-year stuff, the rates are a little closer to where they were last year, although the counties in your listening area, the rates are down. What I'm seeing in alot of the counties, especially ones that have some industry, we're seeing labor force growth again..."
He says Lincoln and Oneida counties showed a reversal of the lower work force trend, as they showed a growing labor force. Hodek says demographics continue to weigh on the number of available workers...
".....we know from demographics that we're not suddenly getting more kids joining the labor force. It's a case of over the next couple of decades we're going to see slow labor force growth or no growth at all. In some (demographically) older counties some declines because of the aging out of the Baby Boomer demographic...."
Preliminary April, 2016 rates decreased in 69 of Wisconsin's 72 counties compared to rates in March 2016 and decreased or remained the same in 56 of the 72 compared to April, 2015. Dane county has the state's lowest rate at 2.9 percent.
