“In April last year, our state unemployment rate hit a record low of 2.4%. Last year, Wisconsin had an all-time lowest number of unemployed workers ever in modern history.”
During Gov. Evers’ tenure, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has hit record lows, reaching an all-time low of 2.4 percent in April 2023, and Wisconsin continues to have an unemployment rate below the national average and a labor participation rate above the national average. [...] Still, with historically low unemployment and high workforce participation, coupled with a shrinking labor pool caused by several long-term factors, Wisconsin’s small businesses, farmers and producers, hospitals and healthcare sectors, schools, and other critical employers and industries continue to face significant challenges filling available jobs. Throughout the year, Gov. Evers and his administration will continue efforts to reduce barriers to employment, support opportunities for advancement through Wisconsin’s leading apprenticeship programs, and recruit and retain talented workers to support critical industries of Wisconsin’s workforce. In coordination with his declaration of 2024 as the Year of the Worker, Gov. Evers announced several new initiativesto help address recruitment and retention of Wisconsin’s workforce, including targeted initiatives for careers in education and healthcare—two industries that have particularly struggled to recruit and retain talent.