Issued by: Tom Luljak,
414-229-5024
tluljak@uwm.edu
Inaugural Wisconsin economic scorecard finds some optimism
MILWAUKEE—The inaugural Wisconsin Economic Scorecard conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Center for Urban Initiatives and Research (CUIR) finds some optimism among state residents.
The Wisconsin Economic Scorecard is a new quarterly poll of Wisconsin residents conducted by the CUIR in cooperation with Milwaukee public radio station WUWM and WisBusiness.com. The survey measures perceptions of the health of Wisconsin’s economy as well as personal economic circumstances of Wisconsin residents.
Conducted late last month, the survey found state residents had some optimism as high state and national unemployment rates ticked down.
• Nearly half (45%) of Wisconsin residents expect Wisconsin’s economy to improve over the next year, while relatively few (12%) expect the economy to get worse;
• Most residents say their personal financial circumstances are fair (36%) or good (37%);
• And a majority of residents (52%) expect their personal financial situations to stay the same over the next year, while 36% expect their personal financial situations to improve.
But the survey also found many state residents have been affected by a slowly recovering economy:
• Nearly half (48%) of residents have experienced at least one personal financial problem in the past six months such as: affording rent or mortgage; keeping a job; getting a loan or credit; saving or paying for retirement; or paying for utilities.
• During the past six months nearly half (47%) of residents have decreased spending on non-necessities like entertainment, restaurants, or vacations, while spending has remained the same for most of the other half (46%) of residents.
Most Wisconsin residents believe state elected officials are instrumental to the state of Wisconsin’s economy:
• A large majority of residents (76%) believe a Wisconsin governor has a major impact on Wisconsin’s economy, while 64% believe the state legislature has a major impact on Wisconsin’s economy.
“Wisconsin residents clearly feel that their elected representatives have a substantial impact on the state economy, and the current political situation is coloring economic evaluations. That said, Wisconsin residents are generally optimistic about the state economy as a whole and their personal financial situations over the next year,” said Joe Cera, a researcher and manager of the CUIR Survey Center at UWM.
This inaugural poll is a random digit dial telephone survey of 545 Wisconsin residents from March 26-30. The margin of error is 4.2 percent.
For more go online at www.wisconsineconomicscorecard.org. And see coverage at WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio and WisBusiness.com.
As Wisconsin’s premier public urban institution, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee enjoys a growing national reputation for excellence in research, teaching and community engagement. On an operating budget of $680 million, it educates approximately 30,000 students and is an engine of innovation for Southeastern Wisconsin. The 104-acre main campus and satellite sites are located in the economic and cultural heart of the state. The university’s recent expansion includes new academic and research facilities and the creation of the only School of Freshwater Sciences in the nation and the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health
