The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has published updated workforce profiles for Wisconsin’s 72 counties.
Each profile provides county-level information, analysis, and data to help employers, job seekers, economic developers, and other workforce partners make decisions related to the labor market economy. Every two years, DWD’s Office of Economic Advisors compiles and distills local data on all 72 counties into individual county workforce profiles.
The 2023 profiles cover Wisconsin’s historic bounce-back from the COVID-19 pandemic and feature:
- Updated U.S. Census data and changing demographics, including figures for major municipalities;
- Employment by 11 industry sectors, with payroll totals and percentages;
- Occupational patterns within industries;
- Unemployment and labor force participation rates;
- Barriers to employment;
- And average wages.
For Wood County, DWD produces projections of industry and occupation employment. The projections in this profile are produced every two years, following Bureau of Labor Statistics separations methodology.
The workforce is constantly evolving, and workers are likely to work in several occupations throughout their lifetime. Workers leave occupations for reasons other than retirement, such as career changes or promotions.
The separations methodology accounts for these different types of job changes. The current forecast examines employment over the period between 2020 and 2030 and has been published at both the state and Workforce Development Area (WDA) level.
The state is composed of 11 WDAs and the projections presented in this profile are for the nine-county North Central WDA. The current 10-year projections reflect both the low base-year employment of 2020 and the recovery from the 2020 recession.
Over the 10-year period, regional employment is expected to grow by 7%, above the state’s rate of 6.3%. Employment in the region is anticipated to increase by 14,792 jobs, most attributable to education and health services (26.5%), leisure and hospitality (18.7%), and manufacturing (15.4%).
Other than the information industry, all industries in the North Central area are expected to grow, though at varying rates. Note that these projections only forecast levels of filled positions rather than potential demand, which further illustrates the issues associated with an aging population.
While growth in the labor force is slowing, and in some counties even declining, job growth is expected to continue. So, while businesses already have difficulty in filling the job openings vacated by retirees, increasing difficulty will be felt filling new openings as well, which could result in constrained job growth and expansions.
Although solutions will be different for each business, they will likely include a combination of talent pipeline development, increased automation, engagement of under-utilized groups, and retention of retirees in non-conventional work arrangements.
While industry projections have their uses and provide more of a broad view of employment expectations, a more functional approach is occupational projections. Occupational projections separate openings into three categories: growth, labor force exits, and occupational transfers.
Retirements are a key driver in the labor force exits category. While actual retirement age varies among individuals, age 65 can be used as a rough proxy for expected retirement.
Considering this benchmark, Wisconsin baby boomers are approximately halfway through in reaching retirement. Occupational transfers can include workers that advance in careers or make lateral movements into different occupations.
Generally, a higher need for replacements due to transfers can be expected in lower-paying occupations. Analysis of projected occupational employment reveals that hiring replacements will be a greater need than filling new positions created by growth.
One such example is office and administrative support occupations, as this occupation group has the third highest number of projected openings but a declining number of total jobs.
The need for this group is entirely driven by labor force exits and occupational transfers. While not the largest in terms of openings, the computer and mathematical category stands out as a growing field.
Jobs in this group are typically high paying, and growth in this area could complement the more established business and financial operations field, which is also expected to grow.
For Marathon County, over the 10-year period, regional employment is expected to grow by 6.97%, above the state’s rate of 6.29%. Employment in the region is anticipated to increase by 14,792 jobs, most attributable to education and health services (26.53%), leisure and hospitality (18.70%), and manufacturing (15.35%).
Other than the information industry, all industries in the North Central area are expected to grow, though at varying rates. Note that these projections only forecast levels of filled positions rather than potential demand, which further illustrates the issues associated with an aging population.
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