— Wage and salary growth in Wisconsin is expected to slow this year and the next, according to the latest Department of Revenue economic forecast.
After wages and salaries in the state grew 8.2 percent last year, they’re expected to rise 6.6 percent this year and 3.6 percent in 2024. At the national level, those figures are 9.1 percent, 6.5 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
“Slower economic and employment growth along with lower inflation are behind the predicted slowdown of wages and salaries as a response to the Fed’s policy of higher rates,” report authors wrote.
Meanwhile, total nonfarm employment in Wisconsin is expected to rise 1.5 percent this year before falling 0.2 percent in 2024. This year’s job gains will likely be driven largely by education and health services, leisure and hospitality, state and local government, and manufacturing.
State unemployment hit a record low point of 2.4 percent in April, when employment in five sectors reached pre-pandemic levels, the report shows. But DOR notes the other five main sectors remain below those levels: leisure and hospitality, down 5.5 percent; government, down 2.8 percent; education and health services, down 1 percent; other services, down 2.2 percent; and information, down 4 percent.
The report also includes projections for nominal personal income growth, expected to hit 4.8 percent this year and 3.7 percent in 2024. Adjusted for inflation, those figures would be 0.8 percent for 2023 and 1.1 percent for 2024.
See the full report: https://www.revenue.wi.gov/dorreports/2023-05-wi-forecast.pdf
— Kikkoman Foods is giving $5 million to UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee to support sustainable farming and freshwater studies.
This subsidiary of the Japanese company Kikkoman Corp. on Friday announced a $3 million donation to UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural & Life Sciences and $2 million for UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Science.
According to the company, its plant in Walworth is the highest-producing soy sauce facility in the world.
“Through the donations to these two leading research programs, we’re providing meaningful benefit to the region, and world, by helping to ensure the sustainability of agricultural systems and natural resources that contribute to producing soy sauce into the future,” Kikkoman Corp. Board Chair Yuzaburo Mogi said in a statement.
In a separate announcement, UW-Milwaukee said the company’s donation will go toward construction of a research vessel dubbed the Maggi Sue. According to the university, the boat will be the most advanced research vessel ever designed for the Great Lakes.
To recognize the gift, the university is naming one level of the boat the Kikkoman Freshwater Research Deck. The vessel will house miniature lab “pods” for specialized research applications, sensor systems and space for 18 scientists and crew to undergo long-range scientific voyages.
Joan Nesbitt, UW-Milwaukee’s vice chancellor for university advancement, says the university has now raised more than $15 million in a fundraising campaign for the vessel, two-thirds of the target goal.
“Kikkoman’s gift helps us get closer to the finish line and is a crucial investment in sustaining UWM’s work to protect our freshwater systems,” she said.
See more on the donation: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kikkoman-foods-inc-marks-50th-anniversary-of-brewing-soy-sauce-in-the-us-with-gifts-to-uw-madison-and-uw-milwaukee-totaling-5-million-301847494.html
See more on the research vessel: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/uw-milwaukee-kikkoman-gives-2-million-for-new-uwm-research-vessel/
— The UW System Board of Regents has re-elected Karen Walsh and Amy Blumenfeld Bogost as its president and vice-president, respectively.
According to a release from the board, the president is in charge of committee membership, as well as signing diplomas and contracts issued by the board, and represents the board in speaking with the governor and lawmakers.
In a statement on her re-appointment, Walsh said regents “remain deeply committed to doing what’s right for Wisconsin — and that’s the finest education, research and public service to benefit the entire state.”
Walsh has been on the board since May 2019, while Bogost joined in May 2020.
See the release: https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/uw-system-regents-re-elect-karen-walsh-as-president-amy-blumenfeld-bogost-as-vice-president
— Attorney General Josh Kaul has announced drug companies Teva and Allergan as well as CVS and Walgreens have finalized opioid settlements, getting the state nearly $277 million over 15 years.
Across all participating state and local governments, the opioid agreements include about $17.3 billion in payments, according to the state Department of Justice. Payments are expected to begin by the end of the year.
As part of the settlements, Teva’s opioid business will be barred from opioid marketing and required to put systems in place to prevent drug misuse, DOJ says. And Allergen won’t be able to sell opioids for the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, the pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS have agreed to monitor and report on any “suspicious activity” related to opioid prescriptions.
“The opioid crisis has resulted in harm to countless people, and those who fueled the crisis must be held accountable,” Kaul said in a statement. “The hundreds of millions of dollars that Wisconsin communities will receive from these and other case resolutions will enable more progress to be made in the fight [against] the opioid epidemic.”
National investigations and litigation against drug companies linked to the opioid epidemic have now led to more than $50 million in payments, including $764 million coming to Wisconsin alone, the DOJ release shows.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/dept-of-justice-teva-allergan-cvs-and-walgreens-finalize-opioid-settlement-agreements/
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report…</b></i>
— Seven health care-related data research projects at Marquette University are getting grants through the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute.
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#TOP STORIES#
# Kikkoman Foods giving a total of $5 million to UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee
# The Walking Jerk gives tacos a plant-based spin
# Global manufacturer announces closure to one of Wisconsin facilities, anticipated layoff of 80+
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Wisconsin welcomes Japanese visitors
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=578&yr=2023
– From basketball star to farming advocate: Inspiring community growth
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=576&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Menasha eyesore will be razed by Sonoco to improve riverfront views
# EDUCATION
– Wisconsin’s dairy science program flourishes with certified holsteins
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=577&yr=2023
# ENVIRONMENT
– Madison lakes cleanup to tap 13,000 years of Ho-Chunk wisdom
– Milwaukee Mayor Johnson’s climate action strategy to enhance green building, jobs
# POLITICS
– After boy’s death on dairy farm, officials take on law enforcement language gap
# REAL ESTATE
– Milwaukee County grants $4.2 million for Habitat for Humanity homeownership initiative
– $24 million next phase of Jeffers’ Belle City Square launches with maker space, cafe
# RETAIL
– Crowds flock to the Madison Night Market
– Judge extends sale deadline for Southridge Mall
# SPORTS
– Stricker wins AmFam Championship in Madison: ‘This one is pretty sweet’
# TECHNOLOGY
– Good journalism can safeguard against AI disinformation, UW prof says
# UTILITIES
– Have your say: Green Bay hearings focus on WPS energy bill assistance
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
http://wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82 </i>
Dept. of Natural Resources: Invasive species council announces 2023 invader crusader award winners
Sen. Duey Stroebel: Historic investment in local governments and K-12 education
