File photo: Learfield
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate last month fell to its lowest level in more than 16 years.
Figures released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show Wisconsin had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month of 3.7 percent, which was the lowest it’s been since November of 2000. The state was a full point the national unemployment rate last month, which decreased to 4.7 percent in February.
“The last time it was this low, Tommy Thompson was still working in that office and Bill Clinton was still President of the United States,” Governor Scott Walker said, at a news conference announcing the drop.
While the unemployment rate has continued to decline in recent years, Wisconsin has still not hit the 250,000 jobs Walker promised to create during his 2010 campaign. The governor said that part of the reason that’s been difficult is because many employers are having a hard time finding qualified workers to fill open positions. Walker said that’s something he did not anticipate at the time he made the pledge.