Business Leaders More Optimistic at Start of New Year
MADISON – The number of Wisconsin businesses having trouble finding workers dropped to its lowest level in a decade, according to the results of the latest Wisconsin Employer Survey conducted by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. WMC is the combined manufacturers’ association and state chamber of commerce, representing businesses of all sizes and from every sector of the economy. The organization released some of the survey data in an Economy & Workforce report on Monday.
Just 63 percent of the respondents of the semiannual CEO survey said they were having trouble finding workers, down from 72 percent a year ago and 68 percent in the summer. The last time the percentage was this low was in the winter of 2015 when 63.9 percent of survey respondents said they were having trouble hiring.
“The most probable explanation is because the demand for workers has slowed,” commented Kurt Bauer, WMC President & CEO.
Nevertheless, the labor shortage is still tied with health care costs as the top public policy issue facing Wisconsin, according to the survey. Rising health care costs came up several times in the survey. For example, when asked “what is one thing state government could do to help your business,” a plurality of 41 percent said make health care more affordable. That is up from 30 percent in the summer.
The survey showed modest optimism on the current state of the Wisconsin and national economies. Just 26 percent say the state economy is strong, but that is up from 22 percent a year ago. Sixty-eight percent say it is moderate, while 6 percent say it is weak. Only 18 percent rate the U.S. economy as strong, but that is up from 10 percent a year ago. Sixty-one percent say it is moderate, and 19 percent rate it as weak.
The trend is even better on profitability. Eighty-five percent of respondents say their company was profitable in the last 6 months of 2024, and a robust 96 percent predict being profitable in the first 6 months of 2025.
As for an overall economic forecast, 63 percent say the Wisconsin economy will see growth in the first half of the new year, while 34 percent say it will remain flat. For the U.S. economy, 75 percent predict growth during the same time period, with 21 percent saying the economy will remain flat.
“Clearly, business leaders are more optimistic entering 2025 than they were a year ago, despite the reduced demand for workers,” Bauer said.
Read the full Economy & Workforce report here.
The Wisconsin Employer Survey is conducted twice a year by WMC. The assessment provides a snapshot of where Wisconsin’s employers stand on a number of important issues and outlines their economic outlook for both Wisconsin and the U.S. For the Winter 2025 edition, WMC surveyed 153 employers that make up a representative sample of its membership. Businesses of all sizes, industries and geographic locations in Wisconsin participated.
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