Recession: Wisconsin feels the pain

Wisconsin workers are still reeling from the impact of the national recession that began in 2001, according to a study released by UW–Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategy.

“The State of Working Wisconsin: Update 2003” finds that unemployment is up, the state is losing manufacturing jobs, and wages have been stagnant, says Joel Rogers, director of COWS and co-author of the report.

Among the findings: The state’s unemployment rate jumped from 3.5 to 5.6 percent, effectively the same as the national unemployment rate (5.8 percent); among the state’s male workers, the unemployment rate nearly doubled over the 2000-02 period, rising from 3.6 to 6.5 percent; and more than 19 percent of Wisconsin’s African-American workers were unemployed in 2002 — nearly twice the national figure of 10.3 percent.

The report offers several recommendations, including strengthening work-force education and training programs, and raising the minimum wage to increase earnings for low-income workers.