Wisconsin Job Watch

June 2010 data shows a dip in jobs, unemployment down.

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Work and Wages

High road economic development focuses not just on the number of jobs but the quality of jobs: compensation, job satisfaction, and opportunities for advancement. To understand how we can improve job quality, COWS studies firm and industry practices in different sectors of the economy and different parts of the labor market.

A particular recent focus has been on the service sector: the growing low-wage labor market in the U.S. which employs close to 50 million people. All too often, service sector workers find themselves in dead-end jobs with poverty wages, poor or non-existent benefits, and little opportunity for advancement. In recent years, we have researched several key industries in this sector, including hotels, nursing homes, and childcare centers. Not surprising given the job quality, employers in these industries find it very difficult to retain entry-level employees. But we can get smarter about moving even these industries toward high road results if we first learn about the problems both companies and workers face, and then provide quality-improving strategies through industry-labor partnerships and policy.

COWS is not only concerned with improving job quality at the bottom, but also preserving and enhancing job quality in sectors of the economy where it is traditionally high. Throughout COWS' history, we have conducted extensive research on manufacturing job retention and enhancement. Our recent AMP (Advanced Manufacturing Project) collaboration with scholars throughout the Midwest, furthered that research by investigating how suppliers of large equipment producers can stay competitive and preserve quality manufacturing jobs in the upper Midwest.

Every other Labor Day, COWS publishes The State of Working Wisconsin, a major report on work, wages, labor market trends, and other issues affecting working families in Wisconsin. On alternate years, we publish an update of these findings. These regular publications punctuate our mix of other more focused studies on different industries, reform strategies, emerging best practices in the public sector or industry, and opportunities for improvement.

Work & Wages Publications

Here are some examples of our Work & Wages publications:

• Wisconsin Job Watch - June 2010 Data Update (PDF)
  

  Wisconsin Job Watch provides a snapshot of the effects of the recession on Wisconsin jobs. The numbers are based on seasonally-adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute.

  7/26/2010
• Wisconsin Job Watch - May 2010 Data Update (PDF)
  

  Wisconsin Job Watch provides a snapshot of the effects of the recession on Wisconsin jobs. The numbers are based on seasonally-adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute.

  6/22/2010
• Wisconsin Job Watch - April 2010 Data Update (PDF)
  

  Wisconsin Job Watch provides a snapshot of the effects of the recession on Wisconsin jobs. The numbers are based on seasonally-adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute.

  5/25/2010
• Building Bridges in Wisconsin: Connecting Working Adults With College Credentials and Career Advancement (PDF)
  

  This report presents recent data and analysis on the educational and workforce challenges facing Wisconsin, and provides an overview of statewide efforts to meet this challenge by moving more working adults through the educational pipeline and towards family-sustaining careers. It focuses specifically on various initiatives called "bridges" that are being pioneered at technical colleges across the state to help low-income adults access and succeed in postsecondary training.

  5/5/2010

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Work & Wages News Coverage

Recent news regarding Work & Wages

• "COWS report looks closely at the latest jobless data," Wisconsin Public Radio 7/28/2010
  
• "Here and Now: Frederica Freyberg interviews Laura Dresser," Wisconsin Public Television 7/2/2010
  
• "Four county area lost 800 jobs in May, state says," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 6/23/2010
  
• "Wisconsin's 12 metro areas all add jobs in April," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 5/26/2010
  

See all related news