Free Tuesday Trends sample: Manufacturing rising, venture capital mixed and jobless benefits falling

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RISING

Manufacturing: A new report from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector as one of the largest in the country relative to the state’s total economy. According to the report, just over 20 percent of Wisconsin’s total 2010 earnings were attributed to manufacturing, while just under 13 percent of the state’s total jobs that year were in manufacturing. Both numbers rank second highest in the nation, behind only Indiana. The report also showed a large number of Wisconsin’s counties relied heavily on manufacturing, with 40 of 72 reporting more than 20 percent of total earnings stemming from the sector in 2010. That ranked fourth in the country, behind Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee — and each of the three higher-ranked states has at least 16 more counties than Wisconsin. Sheboygan County ranked had the highest percentage of manufacturing earnings at 46 percent, according to the report.

MIXED

Venture capital: Gov. Scott Walker says he’d like to work with lawmakers on the structure for a venture capital fund before putting it in the state budget he’ll unveil next month — and if that doesn’t happen, the governor would be inclined to continue working on an outline before plugging it into the budget later in the process. Walker tells reporters that absent a specific process, he fears lawmakers may grab the money allocated for the fund and use it for other priorities. He says there isn’t a “magic number” needed to put into a venture capital fund, though a minimum of $25 million to $30 million would likely be necessary. In an address to the board of the Wisconsin Technology Council, Walker also several times references a “fund of funds” approach to venture capital. Under that scenario, the state would create a master fund to allow co-investment with smaller, private venture capital funds. He tells board members they could best help creation of a venture capital program by persuading lawmakers on how their districts — and local businesses — could benefit, acknowledging the issue can be challenging because many lawmakers see it as most likely to benefit Madison or Milwaukee. Meanwhile, a report from PriceWaterHouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association shows venture capital investment in Wisconsin up more than 30 percent last year over 2011 levels. While the total number of venture capital deals fell from 15 to 13, the value rose from $72.8 million to $95.2 million. That’s also despite a decline nationally in venture capital investment.

FALLING

Jobless benefits: The Walker administration releases a report recommending changes to more than 300 rules in the state’s administrative code, headlined by changes that would make it harder to qualify for unemployment benefits. The proposals are part of suggestions to reduce fraud in the program, shore up the unemployment reserve fund and ensure taxes paid into the fund are used properly. The reserve fund began 2012 with a $1.2 billion shortfall, according to the report. The proposals include things like increasing the number of work searches the unemployed must do to qualify for the benefits from two to four. The report also notes half of all claimants are currently exempt from having to actively look for work under the program, and that state standards are broader than the feds on instances in which someone on unemployment can refuse to work and still receive benefits. It also says Wisconsin has 18 exceptions under which someone can quit a job and still receive benefits; Minnesota, in comparison, has nine. The fate of the report’s recommendations, however, remains to be seen as Assembly Republicans begin the arduous task of combing through the state’s entire administrative code. Meanwhile, the state Workforce Development Department notifies lawmakers that unemployed Wisconsin workers are now eligible for a maximum of 54 weeks of benefits, down from 63. That’s after the U.S. Department of Labor notifies the state its three-month unemployment rate has dropped below 7 percent to 6.7 percent, meaning the state is no longer eligible for a nine-week extension of unemployment benefits. The change will affect about 10,500 unemployed Wisconsin workers who will exhaust their 54 weeks of benefits in the weeks after Feb. 9.