The unemployment rate in Wisconsin decreased from August to September, according to a report released Wednesday by the Department of Workforce Development.
Preliminary estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the report said statewide unemployment dropped from 7.5 percent in August 2012 to an estimated 7.3 percent with seasonal adjustment in September, half a percent lower than the national unemployment rate in the same month.
September unemployment in Madison, at 4.5 percent, is the second lowest rate for a Wisconsin city listed on the report. Dane County also had the second lowest unemployment rate of all Wisconsin counties for September.
Additionally, Unemployment Insurance data showed the private sector grew by more than 37,000 jobs between March 2011 and March 2012.
The estimates are based on Unemployment Insurance claims as well as monthly surveys of a sample of 1,450 households and about 5,500 employers in Wisconsin, and are subject to revision.
