Wisconsin’s unemployment rate dropped to an all-time low of 2.9 percent in February, according to preliminary numbers released Thursday by Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development.
The previous record low of 3 percent was set set in January 1999, according to the DWD.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in February.
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The unemployment rate is calculated from a monthly survey of Wisconsin households. It has a relatively high margin of error and is frequently revised, meaning February’s number could potentially be changed a month from now. That’s what happened to December’s figures, which previously matched the 1999 record low until they were revised and increased to 3.2 percent.
A low unemployment rate means the vast majority of people who want a job have one in Wisconsin, but other numbers put the state’s economic picture in more context.
Quarterly numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that economists consider the “gold standard” of job metrics regularly show Wisconsin lagging other states in private sector job growth.
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