Wisconsin April Employment Numbers Released; Unemployment Holds Steady at 3.5%

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Thursday, May 21, 2026, announced the following information for Wisconsin’s labor market, reflecting April 2026 preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• Employment – There were 3,020,100 people employed in Wisconsin, up 400 over
  the month and down 2,900 over the year.
• Labor Force – The state’s labor force participation rate remained unchanged at
  64.4% which is 2.6 percentage points above the national rate of 61.8%.
• Nonfarm Jobs – The total nonfarm jobs in the state were 3,028,800, an increase of
  9,000 over last month.
• Unemployment – The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained
  unchanged at 3.5%, which is 0.8 percentage points below the national
  unemployment rate of 4.3%