Janesville is one of only three areas in state to post job gains
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JANESVILLE — Janesville was one of only three metropolitan areas in the state to post job gains in January, but the area’s unemployment rate skyrocketed by nearly 2 percent and continues to be the highest in Wisconsin.
The local unemployment rate in January was 12.8 percent, up from the 11 percent reported in December, according to the state’s Department of Workforce Development.
Each month, the department reports on 12 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in Wisconsin. Listed as the Janesville MSA, the area actually includes Beloit and most of Rock County.
In particular, the city of Beloit’s jobless rate in January was 18.3 percent, the highest in the state. The city of Janesville’s rate was 13.1 percent.
Overall, the state reported an increase of 5,600 jobs in January. The Milwaukee region added 3,000, while the Green Bay and Janesville MSAs added 600 and 200, respectively.
The discrepancy between the addition of jobs in the Janesville MSA and the increasing unemployment rate is because the source of the data is two different surveys, said Eric Grosso, a senior economist with the state.
The unemployment rate in the Janesville area is based on a survey of people living in the area. The jobs numbers, however, come from a place-of-work survey and could mean that someone who lives outside the MSA got a job within the area.
On a statewide basis, all 12 MSAs saw their unemployment rates increase in January, a period during the winter when rates are typically the highest.
The Madison MSA had the lowest unemployment rate—at 6.8 percent.
“Although Wisconsin has weathered the national recession better than some states, the local unemployment rates underscore continuing challenges,” DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman said. “Working with our regional partners, we continue to do all that we can to connect job seekers and employers and move the economy forward.”
The overall state unemployment rate was 9.6 percent, up from 8.3 percent in December.
The national unemployment rate in January was 9.7 percent, down from 10 percent in December.
Mar 19, 2010 at 3:51 p.m.
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"commets"?
Mar 19, 2010 at 9:15 a.m.
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I'm still seeing places going out of business and people losing jobs.
Mar 19, 2010 at 12:25 a.m.
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emac, the Milwaukee MSA is 1.5 million people compared to the Janesville MSA which is 160 thousand people. It's ten times larger -- with ten times as many employers -- so all things being equal its job gains or losses would be proportioned similarly.
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As to what the jobs are, I don't think 200 is significant enough to say they would differ much from the (post-GM) employment profile. It's a net number, not 200 new jobs at one place. 1/4 of the Rock County workforce is "education and health", a sector that stays pretty stable; another 1/4 was "trade, transport, and utilities", and the first two parts of that are highly variable with the economy. After that is manufacturing, which was close to 1/4 but is probably less than 1/5 right now, and production in that sector is down and likely to stay that way for months at least, as is "construction", about 1/20. That leaves us dependent on "leisure and hospitality", 1/10 and subject to a drop in overall travel and recreation spending, "professional and business services", itself dependent on the local economy's health, and a variety of miscellaneous sectors that don't grow or expand much.
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You also need to account for churn -- the fact that people are normally losing or leaving jobs and getting hired, which could be as many as several hundred.
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That said, a good chunk of it may be the hospital, though I'm not certain where those jobs are counted for out-of-town contractors.
Mar 18, 2010 at 8:21 p.m.
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Oh jobs are up in Jville?
Did BW-3 need another server?
Mar 18, 2010 at 8:06 p.m.
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Some of the "new" jobs are people being recalled from layoff. In addition, the Dean hospital project is ramping up the number of construction jobs.
Mar 18, 2010 at 7:46 p.m.
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chelleandlou- Great question.The headline says Janesville and then the article states the MSA is most of Rock county. I would be interesting to find out where the jobs actually were and in what field of employment. I kind of wonder how the Milwaukee area can add 3,000 jobs and Rock county can only muster up 200.
Mar 18, 2010 at 7:19 p.m.
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Where exactly are these jobs in Janesville?
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