National jobs numbers took a hit in September, but estimates show Wisconsin with a record number of private-sector jobs. That may be because Wisconsin didn’t have to contend with a hurricane.
But Wisconsin saw an increase of 8,600 jobs, according to preliminary estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released Friday. The figures are part of the Current Employment Statistics program, which samples a small number of employers monthly. As preliminary estimates for September, the numbers are subject to revision.
That 8,600 increase is broken down into 5,900 private-sector jobs and 2,700 government jobs. Estimates show an increase of 1,200 construction jobs and over 5,000 additional jobs in the trade, transportation and utilities sector.
Altogether, the total number of estimated private-sector jobs in Wisconsin is 2,543,200, the highest it’s ever been.
Meanwhile, the state’s unemployment rate, which reached the impressive low of 3.1 percent earlier this year, has been slowly but steadily rising over the past few months. The estimated unemployment rate for September is 3.5 percent, still lower than the national rate of 4.2 percent.