Workforce Development Area Directory

WDA 3 - W.O.W.

Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha Counties

Board Web Directory:

W.O.W. Workforce Development Board

Labor Market Economist

Tom Walsh

email or call (262) 956-6754

Tom Walsh is a Labor Market Economist of the Office of Economic Advisors. Tom started covering the Southeast, Milwaukee, and WOW Workforce Development Areas in March of 2019. Prior to this position, he was a Data Analyst for Milwaukee Area Technical College and worked in multiple roles for OEA. Tom holds B.S. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (2009) and an MBA with a Data Analytics Emphasis from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater (2017).

Description

Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington Counties comprise the W-O-W Workforce Development Area (WDA). The WDA hosts a large population and job base, accounting for 11% of the state's population and 12% of the state's jobs. The three suburban W-O-W counties border Milwaukee County on the north and west, and together with Milwaukee, form the four-county Milwaukee Metropolitan Area, which is home to 27% of the state's population and 29% of the state's jobs. Because of convenient access to the Milwaukee job market, many Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington County residents work outside of their home counties and outside of the W-O-W WDA. The rate of out-commute is almost 40% in Waukesha County and over 50% in Washington and Ozaukee Counties.

The three suburban counties which make up the W-O-W WDA are not just bedroom communities of Milwaukee. The WDA has a strong, diversified mix of industries including Fortune 500 Kohl's Corporation and seventeen other large private sector businesses employing 1,000 or more workers. The WDA's largest sectors are trade, transportation, and utilities, which employ over one-fifth of the workforce, and manufacturing, which employs almost as many.

W-O-W residents enjoy the highest per capita income in the state, due in large part to access to high wage jobs both within the WDA and in neighboring Milwaukee County.

Occupational & Industry Employment Downloads

State Information

Occupational & Industry Employment Downloads