— Experts agree employers in Wisconsin will be hesitant to lay off workers even if the economy soon enters a recession, as some economists predict.
During an interview on WisconsinEye yesterday, Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity CEO Buckley Brinkman said manufacturers in the state have learned the importance of holding onto their employees during times of hardship.
Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector currently employs 485,000 people, making up about 16 percent of the state’s total employment base, Brinkman said.
“Even if we have a downturn — and we’ve come off of a record high now, in terms of manufacturing activity — manufacturers are really slow to allow people to go back into the workforce, because they know there’s nobody else there that they can hire to replace them,” he said.
Also during yesterday’s interview, UW-Madison Prof. Steven Deller agreed with Brinkman, noting the difficulty that employers are facing with attracting and retaining talent in the competitive job market. In its latest report on state workforce figures, the Department of Workforce Development announced the state’s unemployment rate hit a record low 2.7 percent in February.
While a recessionary period is defined by gross domestic product rather than employment, Deller explained, employment and GDP often go “hand in hand.”
“It could very well be that we go into a mild recession, but we keep jobs fairly strong because of the way that we define a recession,” he said.
Deller also said economists generally agree the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates two more times, resulting in a 0.25 percent increase, before going into “wait-and-see mode.” While inflation remains relatively high, it has begun to decline, he noted.
Brinkman highlighted how that trend is affecting manufacturing, noting material costs are going down while supply chains are “beginning to loosen up.” Still, he said certain businesses that are sensitive to interest rate changes are most likely to be affected.
“So if you’re a high-tech company that’s making no money, and you’ve been relying on basically free capital for your operation, you’re being impacted,” he said. “If you’re a real estate company, you’re being impacted … Manufacturers, the thing that’s affecting us most is just the wage inflation now.”
Meanwhile, both Deller and Brinkman discussed the role of technology in surmounting workforce shortages, as manufacturers and other businesses find new ways to improve productivity. Deller said the state, the UW System and technical schools can help companies in Wisconsin “bring in new technologies, so their dependency on labor can be minimized.”
Despite that trend, Brinkman predicted job growth in the manufacturing sector will remain strong. But he argued that enhancing productivity and efficiency will be more important.
“What we’ve seen now with our efforts over the past three years, is it’s possible to get 30 percent productivity improvement out of individual manufacturers,” he said. “But you have to be willing to look at them one-by-one … It’s finding those solutions and being able to implement them in a major way.”
Watch the full discussion here: https://wiseye.org/2023/04/10/newsmakers-the-state-of-wisconsins-economy/
— The Public Service Commission has awarded $435,000 in grant funding for planning efforts under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s “Internet for All’’ initiative.
According to a release from the state agency, two recipients are getting $100,000 in funding to plan workforce development strategies ahead of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funding coming to Wisconsin.
These dollars, awarded under the BEAD Workforce Planning Grant Program, aim to engage technical colleges, industry organizations and labor groups in this process.
Meanwhile, the PSC has also awarded $335,000 to seven recipients under the Digital Equity Outreach Grant program, which will gather local information on “digital equity needs” and solutions. Outreach under the program can include workshops, surveys, town hall discussions, interviews and more, per the release.
See details on recipients here: https://psc.wi.gov/Documents/broadband/5-BP-2023_BEADWorkforcePlanningAwardSummary.pdf
See the release: https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/public-service-commission-of-wisconsin-awards-internet-for-all-planning-grants
— GOP lawmakers recently began circulating five bills seeking to add new restrictions to the state’s unemployment insurance program, including one that would tie eligibility for payments to the state’s jobless rate.
The bills come on the heels of voters overwhelmingly approving an advisory referendum last week that asked whether able-bodied, childless adults should meet work requirements to qualify for public benefits.
They also set up the possibility of another veto showdown with Dem Gov. Tony Evers. He nixed several bills similar to those circulated last week. That includes one that would only allow 26 weeks of unemployment payments — the current maximum — if the state’s unemployment rate topped 9 percent. The maximum would be 14 weeks if it was at 3.5 percent or less.
The state’s current unemployment rate is a record low 2.7 percent.
Other bills circulated include:
*LRB 2178, which would bar someone on unemployment from collecting benefits for a week in which they declined a job interview, failed to respond to an interview offer or failed to attend an interview.
*LRB 2176, which would make several changes to the program, including expanding the definition of misconduct to include an employer’s social media policies. Those terminated for misconduct generally aren’t eligible to receive unemployment until certain requalification criteria are met. The bill also includes a provision that would require approval from the Joint Finance Committee for any augmentation of unemployment benefits by the federal government. Evers vetoed a bill last session seeking to end enhanced unemployment benefits the federal government approved as part of a COVID-19 package.
*LRB 2493, which would require the Department of Workforce Development to expand call center hours to assist those applying for benefits anytime volume increases by 300 percent or more. The agency struggled to meet demand as a flood of unemployment applications were filed during the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
*LRB 2716, which would add new work search requirements to remain eligible for unemployment. Now, claimants are required to conduct at least four work searches a week. The bill would require that beginning in the third week of receiving benefits, at least two of the work searches include direct contact with an employer. The bill also would direct DWD to immediately promulgate rules to impose drug testing for unemployment benefits and to rename the program “reemployment assistance” rather than “unemployment insurance.”
See the Association of Wisconsin Lobbyists’ summary of last week’s bills circulated, including links to the co-sponsorship memos:
— The Wisconsin Medical Society is holding a “Health & Harmony” event on Friday in Madison.
The gathering will include continuing medical education sessions on health equity, followed by a fundraising event featuring professional awards, the inauguration of the society’s president and entertainment. It will be held at the Monona Terrace starting at 9 a.m.
See event details: https://www.wismed.org/wisconsin/iCore/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=AM0414_23&WebsiteKey=7406aa79-0073-47e6-a857-f501c7ccdd56
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report …</b></i>
— A New Mexico-based care provider called ClearSky Health has announced its latest medical rehabilitation hospital will be launched in Wisconsin.
And Republicans recently circulated a bill that would bar the state Department of Health Services from automatically renewing the eligibility of a BadgerCare Plus program participant.
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