Wisconsin Unemployment Rate Down to 8.5%

The Department of Workforce Development released the US Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary reports for the month of June. Wisconsin added 104,600 total non farm and 99,300 private sector jobs in the month of June. The unemployment rate for the month was 8.5% which is down 3.6 percentage points from the revised May unemployment rate of 12.1 percent. The data also showed that from June 2019 thru June 2020 Wisconsin’s total non farm and private sector jobs declined by 294,300 and 245,600 respectively. This week is the last week that the extra $600 dollars in unemployment enhancement will be offered. The program doesn’t technically expire until July 31st but the program ends because payments are only provided for weeks ending on either Saturday or Sunday. Eliminating the Federal benefit will reduce workers weekly unemployment payments by 50-85% depending on their state.