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State of Working Wisconsin

The State of Working Wisconsin 2023

For more than two decades, the State of Working Wisconsin has presented the workers’ perspective on the Wisconsin economy. The State of Working Wisconsin 2023 provides the most recent data available on wages, jobs, disparities, and unions to build a stronger understanding of what is going on in the state’s labor market.

 

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COWS High Road Strategy Center in the News

  • Despite low unemployment, new report shows Wisconsin’s economy is leaving some workers behind

    Most wages didn’t keep up with inflation in 2022, labor force participation among Wisconsin women fell to its lowest levels since the late 1980s and the state’s unionization rate continues to decrease. That’s according to a new report, titled "The State of Working Wisconsin 2023," from the COWS economic think tank at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

  • Report finds more than 40% of Milwaukeeans are working ‘bad jobs’

    Currently, more than 40% of Milwaukee residents are working in what a new report by Center of Wisconsin Strategy, or COWS, defines as “bad jobs.” COWS is a research and policy center at UW-Madison.

  • The State of Working in Wisconsin in 2023

    Wisconsin saw record job growth and low unemployment in 2022, while racial pay inequities eased. At the same time, inflation erased wage gains for many, women fell out of the workforce, and union activity dropped. We explore the State of Working Wisconsin 2023 with one of the report’s co-authors.

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