May 21, 2004

WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Petri cheered the news today that Wisconsin's unemployment rate dropped from 5.1% to 4.6% last month.

"This means that it's going to be a lot easier to find a job, and it also will probably be a little easier to get a raise," he said.

"We saw the number of jobs increase in a number of areas. In fact, the recent figures for construction jobs in Wisconsin are at an all-time high - over 120,000. And Manufacturing jobs were up in Wisconsin some 3,700 in one months. This is good news because, of course, manufacturing is much more important in the Wisconsin economy than that in many other parts of the country, and those jobs lead to many other jobs in service sectors," Petri said.