MADISON, Wis. (Midwest Communications) - State labor officials did not expect the big increase in Wisconsin’s unemployment rate for December. After 4 straight months of declines, the seasonally-adjusted jobless rate took a rare half-percent jump last month to 8.7 percent.
Eric Grosso of state’s workforce development agency says recoveries do not happen at a constant pace – and it’s not uncommon for a rebound to happen in, “fits and starts.” But at least one outside analyst says the Wisconsin numbers are not good. Charles McMillion of MBG Information Services in Washington says it looks like the Badger State has not come out of the recession. That’s despite the national economic growth since last fall, and the $800 billion in federal stimulus spending.
McMillion estimates that at least 83,000 Wisconsinites have stopped looking for work since last April – and they’re not included in the official unemployment rate. If they were, he said the Wisconsin rate would be 11.4 percent.
