Wisconsin’s preliminary unemployment rates fell from August to September in every county, major city and metropolitan area tracked by the state, but most local rates remained above their levels from a year earlier.

The Department of Workforce Development’s Oct. 21 release said rates declined over the month in all 72 counties, all 35 of the state’s largest cities and all 13 metropolitan statistical areas. Compared with September 2025, however, rates increased in 61 counties and all 13 metro areas. Among the large cities, 29 posted year-over-year increases, five were unchanged and only Sheboygan recorded a decrease.

The detailed local labor-market tables show that the month-to-month improvement was broad but uneven. Milwaukee’s rate fell to 4.1% from 5.0% in August, while remaining above 3.9% a year earlier. Racine moved to 4.0% from 4.9%, compared with 3.8% in September 2025. Fitchburg had the lowest rate among the 35 listed cities at 2.2%, unchanged from a year earlier.

County figures followed the same pattern. Lafayette County recorded the lowest preliminary rate at 2.2%, down from 2.5% in August and equal to its year-earlier rate. Iron County’s rate fell to 4.0% from 5.1% over the month but stood above 3.6% in September 2025. Adams County moved to 3.7% from 4.7%, compared with 3.3% a year earlier.

The local rates are not seasonally adjusted, meaning normal seasonal changes in hiring and labor-force activity remain in the figures. They therefore should not be read as directly interchangeable with the statewide seasonally adjusted rate. DWD’s separate statewide report put Wisconsin unemployment at 3.2% in September, unchanged from August and one percentage point below the national rate of 4.2%.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ state release independently reported Wisconsin’s seasonally adjusted 3.2% rate. DWD estimated 3,056,300 Wisconsin residents were employed, up 10,100 from August and 45,600 from a year earlier. The state labor-force participation rate rose to 64.9%, while total nonfarm payroll jobs declined by 13,700 over the month.

Those measures describe different parts of the labor market: the household-based employment estimate counts employed residents, while payroll-job estimates count positions reported by employers. The divergence is one reason a single monthly figure does not establish a trend on its own.

Metro-area data add another layer. Madison’s rate was 2.5%, up from 2.3% a year earlier, while Milwaukee–Waukesha stood at 3.2%, compared with 3.1% last September. Racine had the highest metro rate at 3.4%, up from 3.1% a year earlier. Every metro nevertheless improved from August.

The practical takeaway is mixed. September brought lower unemployment rates across Wisconsin’s local areas, but the year-over-year comparison shows that labor-market conditions were softer in most counties and cities than they were last fall. All figures are preliminary and subject to revision, so October’s releases will show whether the broad monthly improvement persists.