via the Milwaukee Business Journal by Dan Shafer
The cities of Milwaukee and Racine both posted lower unemployment rates for April, according to new numbers released by the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD).
The city of Milwaukee’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent, and the city of Racine’s rate went down to 3.8 percent.
The Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis metropolitan statistical area (MSA) also showed significant progress, with its unemployment rate dropping below that of MSA’s in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago. The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked the Milwaukee MSA ninth among the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S., tied with the Seattle and Washington, D.C., metro areas.
The Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis metro region also saw some bad news in terms of unemployment last week, being named America’s “least equal metro area” by the National Urban League. The report shows double-digit unemployment for blacks (13.8%) and "an exceptionally low rate" for whites (2.7%). The Hispanic-white gap also significantly widened, going from 36th to 70th (out of 73) in the report’s equality rankings.
Among Wisconsin MSAs, Racine posted the largest 12-month decline, dropping 1.3 percent to 3.8 percent.
The complete story is here > Jobless rates in Milwaukee, Racine decline in April