On a day when the state’s largest business association reported how optimistic its member CEOs are on the job-creation front, the state lost an estimated 4,300 private-sector jobs in March, according to preliminary data released by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
The report is subject to change as more data becomes available, but it follows two consecutive months of job growth on the state level and mirrors a slowdown in job creation nationally, which some economist link to higher fuel prices. A disappointing 121,000 new jobs were created nationally, but about twice that many were forecast for March.
Despite the job losses, the state’s unemployment rate fell to 6.8% in March. It was the second consecutive month in which the rate was below 7%; the February rate was 6.9%.
In March, the Wisconsin construction industry was hit the hardest in terms of job losses, as the industry sector lost 4,500 jobs, but manufacturing gained 2,000 jobs. The government sector lost 200 jobs, which brings the total number of monthly job losses to 4,500.
The unemployment rate dropped despite the fact the state had 83,000 entrants to its labor force in March, including 63,300 re-entrants, “signaling greater optimism by job seekers,” DWD Secretary Reggie Newson said in a press release.
Based on a survey released by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, job losses at the state level could be short-lived. The association’s later survey indicates that 87% of member CEOs say they will be adding jobs in 2012.
The state also revised the January and February employment data to show Wisconsin gained 13,800 private-sector jobs in January, not the 15,700 originally reported, and that 6,100 new jobs were created in February, an increase over the 4,000 new jobs reported in the preliminary data.
