Wisconsin ranks 30th in job creation over past 12 months

MADISON — Wisconsin is 30th in private-sector job creation, but still lags the national average.

That's according to the latest figures released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The report shows private-sector jobs in Wisconsin grew just over 1.7 percent for the 12-month period ending in March. That is behind the national average of 2.4 percent. Wisconsin ranks 30th out of all 50 states, an improvement from 35th for the 2014 calendar year.

The state added 39,624 jobs between March 2014 and March of this year.

The state Department of Workforce Development also reported Thursday that Wisconsin's unemployment rate dropped from 4.6 percent in July to 4.5 percent in August.

During that month Wisconsin added 7,200 private-sector jobs.