Wisconsin population grows, but labor force doesn’t
(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s civilian labor force has become a flat line without further growth while the state population continues to grow.
That’s common across the U.S. with some northern counties even projected to show a work force decline, according the Section Chief Scott Hodek of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Office of Economic Advisors.
“With the aging of the baby boomer generation, Wisconsin’s labor force basically levels off while the population continues to grow,” Hoked said while presenting a graph that shows how the workforce grew from 1976 to 2000 steadily before leveling off and maintaining its current status right about 3 million total workers, where it is expected to remain through 2040.
The state saw a fourth straight month of record highs for jobs and employment in August.
Overall, the state did see more unemployment starts over the past few weeks but the 2.9% unemployment rate from August was still better than the national rate of 4.2%.
Wisconsin saw a monthly gain of 11,600 nonfarm jobs and 35,300 jobs year over year.
Construction jobs were up 2,300 for month and 5,500 for the year while manufacturing jobs were down 800 for the month but up 4,400 for the year
We do still have job growth and low unemployment rates, but we are seeing the national economy slow some,” Hodek said.
