Wisconsin unemployment rate drops in May, lowest since October 2008

MADISON (AP) — Wisconsin's unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent in May, down one-tenth from April and the lowest it's been since October 2008.

The state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday that Wisconsin lost 400 private sector jobs between April and May.

The numbers are based on a survey of roughly 3.5 percent of the state's employers and subject to significant revisions.

More reliable numbers are released quarterly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but they lag the monthly figures. The latest BLS release, which also came Thursday, covered the calendar year 2013 and showed Wisconsin was 37th nationally in new job creation.

That report showed the state added 28,141 private sector jobs last year, the lowest annual total in the first three years of Gov. Scott Walker's administration.