Wisconsin has fallen to 38th in the country in yearly private-sector job growth.

Preliminary, seasonally adjusted estimates for December, released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that Wisconsin added 23,600 private-sector jobs in 2015 for 0.96 percent growth.

By percentage, 37 states did better between December 2014 and December 2015, including all but two other Midwest states. Only Illinois at 45th (loss of 2,800 jobs, minus-0.06 percent growth) and North Dakota at 50th (loss of 18,700 jobs, minus-4.8 percent growth) were lower among the 10-state Midwest group.

It's the fourth time in five years under Gov. Scott Walker that the state has ranked in the lower half of the rankings for December-to-December job growth. Wisconsin was 24th in 2014, 34th in 2013, 40th in 2012 and 37th in 2011 for a five-year average ranking of 34.6.

In the five years before that — a period that included the Great Recession — Wisconsin's average ranking was marginally better, 28.6.

Wisconsin experienced monthly job losses in six of the 12 months in 2015 but came out on the positive side thanks to some larger monthly gains in February and October.