8.6% of Wisconsin workers file jobless claims

Center Square News Service

MADISON - The share of the Wisconsin labor force filing unemployment claims from mid-March to April 4 was 8.6 percent, with the state jobless rate expected to hit 15.6 percent by July, according to a 24/7 Wall St. study.

Wisconsin unemployment claims during the week of March 29 to April 4 numbered 104,776, an increase of 1,847 percent over the same period a year earlier, the analysis said.

The share of the state’s workers who are employed in industries most likely to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic, including hospitality, transportation, warehousing, and oil and gas extraction, was estimated at 15.8 percent, according to the 24/7 Wall St. study.

With more than 15 million Americans out of work, the nation’s overall unemployment could hit nearly 16 percent by July, according to estimates released by the Economic Policy Institute. That rate would be greater than any other jobless figures recorded since the 1930s.

The study said nearly 105,000 people filed jobless claims in Wisconsin in the week that ended April 6.

The study projects a jobless rate for Wisconsin of 15.6 percent come July.