State Unemployment Rate Hits 9.4%
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Unemployment in Wisconsin jumped to 9.4 percent in March, surpassing the national rate and signaling the deepening recession as job losses mount.
The Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday that unemployment rose from 8.8 percent in February to 9.4 percent last month.
Unemployment is nearly twice as high as a year ago when the rate was just 5 percent. The national unemployment rate in March was 9 percent.
Workforce Development reported that the number of people unemployed increased by nearly 17,000 people between February and March.
The news came as the Legislature's budget-writing committee voted to approve more than $38 million in federal stimulus money designed to help the unemployed get training and other assistance to help them find work.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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