Wisconsin employers lost an estimated 11,700 private-sector jobs last month, 14,600 overall, making November the fifth consecutive month of job losses.
But the figures are being called into question. The November numbers are preliminary and subject to revision – October job losses were revised to show the state lost significantly fewer jobs than first reported – but they come at a time when Gov. Scott Walker hopes to fend off a recall effort.
Despite the job losses, the state unemployment rate declined from 7.7% to 7.3%. The state’s unemployment rate now is lower than it was in June (7.6%), the last month the state reported job gains.
The national unemployment rate declined last month from 9% to 8.6%, but economists attributed some of that to discouraged job seekers leaving the workforce.
In Wisconsin, the state Department of Workforce Development now says the state lost 2,400 jobs in October, not the 9,700 originally reported.
The disparity between preliminary and revised data has some, including DWD Secretary Reggie Newson, calling for a more accurate way to report employment data.
Gov. Walker’s stated goal is for Wisconsin employers to create 250,000 new jobs by 2015, but after a promising start in the first six months of 2011, the state has fallen far below the pace required to reach that goal.
Recent forecasts call for modest job growth in 2012 in both Wisconsin and the nation.
