Local jobless rates on the rise
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JANESVILLE — The statewide rankings remained the same, but the local unemployment rates continued to grow in March.
The Janesville-Beloit area continues to lead the state with an unemployment rate of 13.5 percent, up from the 13 percent reported in February and more than double the 5.5 percent tallied in March 2008.
The state's Department of Workforce Development reported Wednesday that unemployment increased in each of the state's 12 metropolitan statistical areas.
The Janesville-Beloit MSA is somewhat unique in that it includes all of Rock County. The local MSA rate, therefore, mirrors the county rate.
But the state also reports unemployment numbers for each of the state's 72 counties, some of which don't have a metropolitan statistical area.
Among county rates, Rock trailed Rusk and Taylor counties, which had March unemployment rates of 16.6 percent and 14.3 percent. Sixty-four counties saw increasing unemployment in March, while five decreased and three were flat.
"Wisconsin counties and local areas, like the state, are feeling the impact of the global economic challenges facing everyone," said DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman.
Significant layoffs in the local auto industry have added to those global challenges in the Janesville-Beloit area.
Among Wisconsin cities, Beloit had the highest March unemployment rate, 17.7 percent, up from 17 percent reported in February and the 8 percent tallied in March 2008.
Behind the city of Racine, Janesville is third with a March unemployment rate of 15.3 percent. In February, the local rate was 14.6 percent; last March, it was 5.5 percent.
Local economic development officials have said unemployment rates are likely to remain high for some time, barring a dramatic turnaround in the local economy. Some state projections suggest Rock County's annual unemployment rate will remain in double digits through 2011.
Statewide, the March unemployment rate is 9.4 percent, up from 8.8 percent in February and 5 percent in March 2008.
Apr 24, 2009 at 2:16 a.m.
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the number is also worse then the numbers show. Un-employment only accounts for those LOOKING for work. Many are un-employed and have given up looking. It also does not account for the MANY who are now under employed. Talk to anyone around Janesville, and you hear story after story of reduced hours, rotating days off, ext.
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Unemployment is the lagging indicator of a recession, but I don't think anything has bottomed yet. You have a commercial real estate melt down that is on the horizon, that is simply lagging behind the housing bust that created much of this problem. This recession is unlike anything of the past few. It's effects are going to be far worse then the very minor recessions of the past few decades.
Apr 23, 2009 at 12:17 p.m.
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That's pretty scary high. And as I noted elsewhere our U-6 rate including discouraged workers is probably somewhere in the range of double that. Worse, even if the recession has bottomed out, unemployment could continue to rise for a number of months, which has been the pattern the last two recessions. Hang on.
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