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On April 22nd Republicans in the state Assembly approved a series of changes to Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance program, including renaming it “reemployment assistance” and adding requirements for eligibility.  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the proposals were aimed at addressing Wisconsin’s worker shortage. A version of one of the unemployment bills passed last session was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers, who argued that they create barriers to receiving help.    The changes to unemployment insurance would require a person to make

Despite increased costs and time spent on talent acquisition, 60% of business leaders globally worry that they’ve hired the wrong person, according to a survey released Dec. 3 by talent acquisition software company, SmartRecruiters. The survey included 500 companies across North America, the UK, and Australia.  It also found that 45% of business leaders spend more than half their working hours on talent acquisition tasks, diverting crucial resources from core operations.  The study noted this inefficiency is driving up costs

Introduced within the framework of the House Budget 2025 bill, the “No Tax on Overtime” proposal seeks to alleviate financial burdens on workers by exempting overtime pay from federal income taxes. This means that employees working beyond their standard hours could receive their overtime earnings without federal tax deductions, potentially increasing their take-home pay. As of early March 2025, the House of Representatives has narrowly passed the budget resolution that includes this proposal. The resolution passed with a 217-215 vote,

A California electronics manufacturer agreed to work with a staffing firm, but difficulties emerged when the company sought to hire the staffing firm’s workers onto their own payroll.     During interviews with the staffing firm’s employees, several of the employees told the company’s supervisor that they did not want to convert to full-time status with the company. When pressed further, it was disclosed that the staffing firm workers were concerned that they did not have the “proper documentation” to become

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) reported a record 3,053,300 total nonfarm jobs in January 2025, based on preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  According to a news release from DWD, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.2%. That rate is still 0.8 percentage points below the national unemployment rate, which is 4.0%. The state’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 65.9%, which is also better than the national rate of 62.6%.  Construction jobs in Wisconsin

U.S. Manufacturing Slowed in 2024 The U.S. manufacturing sector shed 87,000 jobs last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is the biggest loss since 2009 during the Great Recession excluding the coronavirus pandemic year of 2020. Manufacturing struggled as many companies limited capital spending amid high borrowing costs and sluggish export markets. The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of factory activity has been contracting for all but one month in the past two years. Bloomberg (01/10/25)