Estimated 2,600 jobs added in Wisconsin in May

Preliminary estimates show the state of Wisconsin added 2,600 jobs last month, with about 900 of them in the private sector.

Preliminary estimates show the state of Wisconsin added 26-hundred jobs last month, with about 900 of them in the private sector. The 26-hundred job estimate comes from a monthly survey of employers. While the numbers are only preliminary, taken together with other estimates this year they represent a gain of more than 16-thousand jobs so far in 2012.

At the same time, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate went up from six-point-seven percent to six-point-eight percent. The Department of Workforce Development’s Nelse Grundvig says the rising rate is a function of more people returning to the workforce searching for jobs. “This is also usually a positive sign at this time of year because what that means is that people are out actively looking for work,” he says.

The unemployment rate comes from a separate survey of households. Last month when the rate went down, Governor Walker called it the best economic indicator on a month-to-month basis.

Long-term, the Walker administration says quarterly census numbers from employers are the most accurate. The administration took the unusual step of releasing those numbers early during the recall campaign, showing 23-thousand jobs gained in Walker’s first year in office. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics still hasn’t verified those numbers. That happens later this month.