MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s unemployment rate for September remained unchanged at 3.9% for the sixth month in a row, the state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday.
The report is the first since enhanced federal unemployment benefits expired on Sept. 6. Republicans had argued that the benefit motivated people not to work, only worsening the state’s worker shortage problem. But Democrats and labor force experts said the shortage, which has been a problem for years, was driven by a variety of factors.
Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, vetoed a Republican-authored bill that would have ended the benefits this summer. An attempt to override that veto failed in July.
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was better than the national average of 4.8% in September.
Private sector jobs in Wisconsin dropped by 100 in September compared to August. There were 51,800 more private sector jobs in September than a year ago.
