La Crosse area umemployment drops for May

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jun 28, 2002 | by Cahalan, Steve

State officials said the La Crosse metropolitan area's unemployment rate dropped from 4.3 percent in April to 3.9 percent in May, with increases in the number of construction and service-related jobs.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development also said unemployment rates dropped in May in each of the state's 72 counties and all 28 of its largest cities.

In the La Crosse area, the number of employed people rose from about 72,300 in April to 72,800 in May.

"There was a nice increase in contract construction employment," said Bill Brockmiller, state labor market analyst in La Crosse. "There are a lot of local construction projects, and we had good weather," he said. "And most indicators are telling us the housing (construction) market stayed strong throughout the softness in the economy."

The number of construction jobs in the La Crosse area rose from about 2,900 in April to 3,300 in May, and was up from 3,000 in May 2001.

The number of service jobs also rose, from about 23 600 in April to 23,900 in May, and was up from 22,900 in May 2001. In the past year, Brockmiller said, "Most of the growth has been in health services," such as hospitals, medical clinics, doctor's offices and dentist offices.

"Health services continue to be a cornerstone of the service industry and one of the better-paying areas in the service industry," Brockmiller said.

"We also saw some stability in trade and manufacturing (in May) that we haven't seen in awhile," he said. The number of manufacturing and retail jobs in the La Crosse area was unchanged from April.

The biggest improvement in the state was in the JanesvilleBeloit area, where the unemployment rate dropped 1.3 percentage points from 7.2 in April to 5.9 in May.

The improvements in the state's cities came as Wisconsin's unemployment rate had its biggest drop in 15 years, from 5.4 percent in April to 4.8 percent in May. The rate is adjusted to reflect normal seasonal changes.

Madison continued to have the state's lowest unemployment rate at 2.4 percent. Racine had the highest rate at 6.6 percent.

The national seasonally adjusted rate for May was 5.5 percent, down from 5.7 percent in April.

The unemployment rate is based on the number of people seeking employment. Those who are jobless but not actively looking for work are not included in the rate. UNEMPLOYMENT RATES

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for Wisconsin and various metropolitan areas in May, as compared with APril figures:

* Wisconsin: 4.8 percent, down from 5.4 percent.

* Appleton-Oshkosh: 4.4 percent, down from 4.9 percent.

* Eau Claire: 4.9 percent, down from 5.7 percent.

* Green Bay: 4.1 percent, down from 4.9 percent.

* Janesville-Beloit: 5.9 percent, down from 7.2 percent

* Kenosha: 5 percent, down from 5.6 percent.

* La Crosse: 3.9 percent, down from 4.3 percent

* Madison: 2.4 percent, down from 2.6 percent.

* Milwaukee-Waukesha: 5.1 percent, down from 5.7 percent

* Racine: 6.6 percent, down from 7.2 percent.

* Sheboygan: 4.2 percent, down from 5.2 percent.

* Wausau: 4.2 percent, down from 4.8 percent.