Wisconsin\u2019s unemployment rate held steady in August even as the number of people employed in the state fell.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to August employment data<\/a> released by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.<\/p>\n The state unemployment rate held steady at 3.1 percent in August, compared to the national rate of 4.3 percent. <\/p>\n News with a little more humanity<\/p>\n WPR\u2019s \u201cWisconsin Today\u201d newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.<\/p>\n The number of people employed was down by 6,000 last month compared to July and 40,400 compared to the same time last year. But at the same time, the number of people who were unemployed fell slightly from July, down by 1,100 last month.<\/p>\n Scott Hodek is the section chief of the department\u2019s Office of Economic Advisors. He said employment numbers are decreasing because people over 65 are retiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBaby boomers are aging out of the labor force,\u201d Hodek said. \u201cSo that\u2019s kind of underpinning most of the changes overall in the economy and most of the things we\u2019re dealing with.\u201d<\/p>\n He said hiring and job growth is decreasing in Wisconsin and around the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Wisconsin labor market has cooled a bit along with the national economy, but unemployment rates do remain historically low,\u201d Hodek said.<\/p>\n National economic data tells a similar story. Confidence of being able to find a job hit an all-time low in August, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York\u2019s Center for Microeconomic Data<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Long-term unemployment is rising across<\/a> the country. The Washington Post reported<\/a> that one in four workers without jobs have been unemployed for at least six months \u2014 that\u2019s nearly 2 million Americans.<\/p>\n