The current political landscape leaves no shortage of buzzwords on the table, although “workforce” and “unemployment” are not new topics of concern at the top – or at the local level.

This spring, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) rolled out its analysis of the state’s overall workforce health and trajectory, as well as workforce profiles for each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Regional and local data is compiled and distilled into profiles for each county, including workforce demographic informational, occupational patterns and industry projections, unemployment rates, and more.

On May 23, DWD’s latest workforce profiles rolled out. Here’s the rundown on unemployment rates, industry and occupation growth, and more in Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Dunn counties.

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Eau Claire County
Population estimate (as of 2023): 108,807

Eau Claire County – encompassing 10 towns and cities including Altoona, Augusta, Seymour, the village of Fall Creek, and others – has become one of the state's top five counties in terms of positive population growth and continues to grow, seeing an increase of 2.9% since 2022. The county's labor force participation rate has risen since then, outpacing the statewide rate by 2.5%, with its unemployment rate rising an estimate of 0.2% since 2022. The county's largest industry is education and health services (accounting for about 33,443 jobs), with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley Technical College noted as "major employers in the county." 

See the full 2025 Eau Claire County Workforce Profile report online.

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Chippewa County
Population estimate (as of 2023): 67,104

Chippewa County – home to 10 towns and cities, including Chippewa Falls, Bloomer, Stanley, Wheaton, and others – has also seen a growth in population: up 1.2% since 2022. However, the county's labor force participation rate is slightly lower than the statewide rate, and its unemployment rate is also slightly up (0.2%) from 2022. The county's largest industry is now trade, transportation, and utilities (accounting for about 11,619 jobs), and surpassed manufacturing since 2022 (accounting for about 11,019 jobs).

See the full 2025 Chippewa County Workforce Profile online.

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Dunn County
Population estimate (as of 2023): 45,317

While Dunn County – comprised of 10 towns and cities, including Menomonie, Tainter, Elk Mound, Colfax, and others – saw a slight decrease in population in the past couple of years (-0.3%), its labor force participation rate also lowered to about 64.9% or -0.4% lower than the statewide rate. At the same time, the county's unemployment rate rose 0.3% since 2022, for a total of 3.4%. Notably, Dunn County's largest industry is trade, transportation, and utilities (accounting for roughly 9,754 jobs). As the county's "snapshot" profile states, "Warehousing and storage is particularly important to the county, being the second largest subsection; highlighting the importance of Dunn as a trade conduit along a crucial regional corridor between the Twin Cities and Wisconsin." 

See the full 2025 Dunn County Workforce Profile online.

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View all the 2025 Wisconsin County Profiles and additional information from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development online.