The Federal Reserve surprised investors Wednesday with its fourth reduction of interest rates this year. Meanwhile, a national report showed that the number of Americans filing initial jobless claims fell last week after hitting a five-year high the previous week. The number of newly laid-off workers filing for benefits totaled 385,000 last week, a decline of 10,000 from the week before, the U.S. Department of Labor said. The index is now higher than at any time since December. Manufacturing jobs lost Wisconsin lost 2,500 manufacturing jobs in March, but that was fewer than half as many as the month before.
Manufacturing constitutes a bigger share of Wisconsin's economy than it does nationally.
Meanwhile, retailers in the state added 5,100 jobs in March and the service sector added 5,300 workers, according to state data. Many United States manufacturers, particularly in the automotive industry, cut production and temporarily laid off workers much more in January and February than they did in March, a month when national industrial output rose. Headlines about layoffs and rising unemployment may hurt Wisconsin's tourism sector's labor problems during the summer tourism season, Ludeman said. Students looking for summer jobs in Wisconsin shouldn't have any trouble, he said. Journal Sentinel wire services contributed to this report.