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Scott Walker, Governor
Raymond Allen, Secretary

Department of Workforce Development
Secretary's Office
201 E. Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 7946
Madison, WI 53707-7946
Telephone: (608) 266-3131
Fax: (608) 266-1784
Email: sec@dwd.wisconsin.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 20, 2018
CONTACT: DWD Communications, 608-266-2722
On the Web: http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/news/
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WIWorkforce
On Twitter: @WIWorkforce

Wisconsin Addition of 17,600 Manufacturing Jobs Over Year Ranks 2nd Nationally, 1st in Midwest

Wisconsin ranks in top 10 among states in numerous measurements in June

MADISON – Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Ray Allen released the following statement on today's release by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (USDOL/BLS) showing that Wisconsin's significant addition of 17,600 manufacturing jobs from June 2017 to June 2018 ranked 2nd nationally and 1st in the Midwest, while the addition of 2,600 manufacturing jobs from May 2018 to June 2018 also ranked 2nd nationally and 1st in the Midwest. The data released today also showed that Wisconsin's labor force participation rate of 68.9 percent ranked 5th nationally and 2nd in the Midwest, while the state's near-historic low unemployment rate of 2.9 percent ranked 7th lowest nationally and 2nd lowest among Midwestern states. This news follows yesterday's release that showed that for the first time in Wisconsin history, the state maintained an unemployment rate below 3 percent for 5 consecutive months.

"Under the leadership of Governor Walker, businesses across many industries are confident in the direction of the Wisconsin economy, they are adding jobs and Wisconsin workers are reaping the benefits," Secretary Allen said. "More than 3,000 people entered the labor force in Wisconsin from May to June, and it's easy to see why; workers are excited about the great career opportunities available, many of which are being created in Wisconsin's high-paying manufacturing industries."

Highlights of today's state-by-state rankings released by BLS include:

Wisconsin ranks 2nd nationally in manufacturing jobs added in 2018
Wisconsin's ranks 9th nationally in number of manufacturing jobs added since 2010
Wisconsin's addition of 5,500 private sector jobs from May 2018 to June 2018 ranked 14th nationally
Wisconsin's addition of 1,300 construction jobs from May 2018 to June 2018 ranked 8th nationally
Wisconsin's construction growth rate of 1.1 percent from May 2018 to June 2018 ranked 10th nationally
Wisconsin's addition of 7,400 total non-farm jobs from May 2018 to June 2018 ranked 11th nationally and 3rd in the Midwest
Wisconsin's unemployment rate of 2.9 percent ranked 7th lowest nationally and 2nd lowest in the Midwest, trailing only Iowa
Wisconsin's labor force participation rate of 68.9 percent ranked 5th highest nationally
Wisconsin's year over year manufacturing growth rate of 3.8 percent ranked 6th nationally and 2nd in the Midwest

Other indicators of the state of Wisconsin's economy include:

Initial UI claims ended 2017 at their lowest level in the last 30 years.
Continuing unemployment claims ended 2017 at their lowest level since 1973.
Moody's investor Service recently upgraded the state's credit rating, nothing that "(T)he stable outlook reflects the expectation that the state will experience moderate economic growth and will continue its prudent fiscal management practices."

The data included in today's release can be accessed on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.