U-Blog 6

Jobless rate up again

This is a great article about todays economy and how it could effect us when we get out of school in a year or two. Its is very important to know where we stand from rest of the world, so we can be prepared when we go out to find a job. please read this article and post your comments below.

Beloit's unemployment rate in March rose to 17.7 percent, up from 17 percent in February, according to Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development figures.
Beloit again had the highest unemployment rate among Wisconsin cities tracked by the Department of Workforce Development.
Janesville ranked third again, at a rate of 15.3 percent, up from 14.6 percent in February. Racine had the second highest unemployment rate in March with 16.3 percent, up from 15.8 percent.
“Wisconsin counties and local areas, like the state, are feeling the impact of the global economic challenges facing everyone,” Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman said Wednesday in a press release. “Governor (Jim) Doyle is working hard to ensure that funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is spent wisely and efficiently to get people back to work and enhance our great quality of life.”
The community with the lowest unemployment was Caledonia with 3.5 percent. Madison had an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent in March, compared to 5.1 percent in February.
Rock County ranked fifth in the state for unemployment at 13.5 percent, up slightly from 13 percent in February.
Rusk County again was ranked first in the state for highest unemployment with a rate of 16.6 percent, up from 15.6 percent in February. Taylor County had the second highest rate at 13.3 percent, followed by Oconto County and Iron County, both at 13.6 percent.
Dane County had an unemployment rate of 6 percent in March, up from 5.6 percent in February and LaCrosse County and Eau Claire County both had rates of 7.4 percent in March.
The unemployment rate for Wisconsin in March was 9.4 percent, up from 8.8 percent in February. Unemployment rates increased in 64 of the 72 counties in Wisconsin. Rates decreased in five Wisconsin counties and remained the same in three.
Beloit's high unemployment rate may be affected by the high unemployment rate on the Illinois side of the border as well. Rockford, only 20 miles to the south of Beloit, had one of the highest unemployment rates in Illinois in February at 14.7 percent. Also, nearby Boone County, home of the Chrysler Assembly Plant in Belvidere, had the highest county unemployment rate in Illinois in February at 16.4 percent in February. Belvidere had an unemployment rate of 19.3 percent in February. Winnebago County, with Rockford as the county seat, had the third highest county unemployment rate at 13.6 percent in February. The unemployment rate for Illinois was 9.1 percent in March.
According to 2000 Census data, about 6.5 percent of Rock County residents commute to Winnebago County in Illinois each day to work. With the workforce in Rock County at about 83,000 as of three years ago, that would add up to roughly 5,395 going from southern Wisconsin to northern Illinois each day.