Wisconsin County Profiles
Wisconsin Overview
The County Workforce Profiles provide snapshots of the labor market for every Wisconsin county. Each profile includes analysis of population and population change, industry employment, occupational patterns within industries, labor force dynamics, and employment projections. This year's profiles address barriers to employment. These include transportation, housing, childcare, and broadband access.
2023 Wisconsin County Profiles
View PDFs by selecting a county from the dropdown list, then choosing GO.
County Profile Downloads
Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), Bureau of Labor Statistics
Source: WI DWD, OEA Special Tabulation
Employment
Wisconsin's labor force held relatively steady through the pandemic, while employment dropped severely and then recovered quickly. The employment gyrations pushed the unemployment rate to 14.1% in April 2020. As employment recovered, the unemployment rate fell to new lows of 2.8% in March and April of 2022. As of December 2022, Wisconsin's seasonally adjusted unemployment is 3.2%. See graphic 1.
Long-Run Challenge
Workforce quantity is the primary challenge facing Wisconsin's economic future. The demographic dynamics facing the state, other upper-Midwest states, the U.S., and most of the developed economies will advance unaltered in the coming decades. While Wisconsin's population will continue to grow over the next 20 years, the workforce faces serious constraints. The labor force trend began to seriously flatten in 2008 after slowing in the late 1990s as the first baby boomers (those born in 1946) reached age 62 and began to leave the workforce. Baby boomers continue to exit the workforce in great numbers and will continue to do so over the next 20 years. The number of retiring baby boomers nearly match the influx of new workers, resulting in a slow-growing workforce. This constrains employers' ability to secure talent across industries. Many businesses report that the lack of available workers has hindered expansion, and in some cases, even curtailed the ability to meet current business needs. See graphic 2.
