August 2024: Wisconsin’s Ever-Changing Workforce

There is an old saying that the only constant in this world is change. That adage can be applied to Wisconsin’s labor force. The retirement of the large baby boom generation beginning in 2011 has been a driving factor in the state’s labor shortage and rising wages. Cultural shifts, such as changing preferences on family formation and work-life balance, have workforce implications while technology has at least partially severed the link between place of work and residence.

For counties, these changes can create difficulties in attracting and retaining workers. Understanding how the workforce is evolving can help county officials devise plans to address the attraction/retention challenges.

Read the full August 2024 Wisconsin Counties article here.