Below is an excerpt from the most recent edition of WisBusiness Tuesday Trends.
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RISING
Paper: A trio of endangered Wisconsin paper mills find new homes, triggering optimism in cities in central and northern Wisconsin. First, Wausau Paper Corp. announces plans to sell mills in Mosinee and Rhinelander, along with its specialty paper operation, to a New York-based private equity firm for $130 million. Wausau had announced plans to sell three of its mills in January, then said the following month it would shutter one of the mills in Brainerd, Minn. But KPS Capital Partners LP — which touts its efforts to turn around underperforming businesses — says it plans to combine the Wausau operations with another upcoming acquisition. In another move, Canadian paper company Domtar announces plans to sell its Port Edward paper mill — shuttered since 2008 — to an Ohio company. Columbus-based DMI Acquisitions says it plans to redevelop the old mill for new industry.
MIXED
Unemployment benefits: Legislative Republicans are proposing an overhaul of the state’s unemployment insurance program to shore up the fund used to pay benefits, crack down on fraud and cut the number of weeks laid-off workers could receive benefits unless the jobless rate is at historic highs. But the plan also includes the first bump in weekly payments in four years. Lawmakers outline the package in a letter circulated ahead of sending it to the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council. They note the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is still $900 million in the hole. While that’s an improvement from the $1.5 billion debt at its high mark, employers still face additional assessments this year and next to get out of the debt, backers say. The lawmakers are asking the unemployment insurance council to adopt the changes. It’s unclear whether lawmakers would take up the changes in legislation if the council declines.
FALLING
Jobs and wages: The latest monthly jobs estimate from the Department of Workforce Development show a mixed economic picture for the state. Although the state gained 12,100 jobs in February, that included a loss of 2,300 private sector jobs and an increase in the unemployment rate to 7.2 percent. Most critics, however, focus on the latest quarterly numbers from the federal government showing Wisconsin still lagging in job creation. In the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Wisconsin ranked 44th among states in job creation from Sept. 2011 to Sept. 2012. The report, which had been previously released in an unverified form by DWD, showed the state with a job creation rate of 0.7 percent overall during that span. Private sector job growth was 0.9 percent. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest data also shows wages declining in Wisconsin — and at a higher rate than the national average. Wages declined 2.65 percent in the state between the third quarter of 2011 and the same quarter in 2012 — the fourth largest decline nationally — landing at an average of $770 per week. That average was No. 35 nationally, dropping from No. 33 in the prior third quarter. Overall, 45 of the 50 states reported wage declines in the latest QCEW data; the national average saw a decline of 1.1 percent.
