Wisconsin Projected To Have Strong Employment Outlook For Next 3 Months

A consulting firm has declared that based on recent survey findings, Wisconsin has one of the best three-month jobs outlooks in the nation.

The latest quarterly jobs forecast from the Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup says that 24 percent of Wisconsin employers it polled plan to add workers in the fourth quarter. About 5 percent plan layoffs, which amounts to what Manpower calls a 19 percent net employment outlook.

The group’s Chris Layden says that’s the fifth best net number in the nation, trailing only North Dakota, Arizona, Mississippi and Texas. He said that Wisconsin is in slightly better shape than the neighboring states of Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota.

“Really the laggard in this is Illinois,” said Layden. “Illinois came in at 7 percent net employment outlook in the coming quarter. They really are trailing the rest of the states in the Midwest.”

Where Wisconsin ranks in the Midwest in actual jobs added has been a point of contention in the governor’s race. The Manpower survey says more than two-thirds of Wisconsin employers plan no change in staffing levels. Together with the 5 percent of employers that plan cuts, that means that about three-fourths of all employers aren’t planning on adding new workers.