Workforce Development Area Directory

WDA 8 - West Central

Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix Counties

Board Web Directory:

West Central Workforce Development Board

Labor Market Economist:

Scott Hodek

email or call (715) 679-5538

Scott Hodek is the West Central Wisconsin regional economist, for the Office of Economic Advisors, a part of Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development. The Office assists economic data users to better understand the relationships between labor markets and other economic and demographic trends. Scott has been a regional economist, covering regions throughout northern Wisconsin, since Jan '06. Prior to this position, he was a regional economist in Oregon, covering the Columbia Gorge region, as well as a marketing analyst in the private sector. Scott earned a bachelor of science degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire in 2002.

Description

The West Central Wisconsin region is composed of 9 counties: Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix. Four of the counties in the area are designated as metropolitan statistical areas (MSA).

Wisconsin's West Central WDA covers over 4.5 million acres, roughly 13 percent of the land surface in the state. Over 2.9 million acres are in farms and another 76,500 acres are under water.

This region is education-rich, with three state universities and two tech colleges located here. At least in part because of that, the West Central WDA has a comparatively young population (and accompanying high labor force participation rate), and has become a regional arts and music festival destination.

The Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) accounts for approximately 38 percent of the population in the WDA. One of two MSAs in the region, the Eau Claire MSA is located in the eastern part of the WDA, consisting of Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties. Healthcare is the largest industry of employment in the MSA, followed by retail trade and manufacturing. This MSA is also home to a young and growing software cluster.

Pierce and St. Croix Counties make up part of the other Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI MSA. This MSA, located just on the Minnesota side of the border, with its large population, is very economically interconnected with the West Central WDA. In fact, in Pierce and St. Croix Counties about one-half of the available labor force commutes across the border into Minnesota.

Occupational & Industry Employment Downloads

State Information

Occupational & Industry Employment Downloads