Report shows more economic improvement in Minnesota than in Wisconsin

A new report from the Economic Policy Institute finds Minnesota’s economy improved more than Wisconsin’s between 2010 and 2017, based on a number of economic measures.

The median household income in Minnesota grew 7.2 percent between 2010 and 2016, while Wisconsin’s grew by 5.1 percent over the same period. Median family income followed a similar trend, growing 8.5 percent in Minnesota and 6.4 percent in Wisconsin.

Job growth has also lagged in Wisconsin compared to its western neighbor, the report shows. In Minnesota, job growth since the end of 2010 was 11 percent in total nonfarm employment, compared to 7.9 percent growth in Wisconsin.

Minnesota’s private sector job growth was also better than Wisconsin’s — 12.5 percent versus 9.7 percent., according to EPI, a labor union-affiliated group that’s often described as a liberal think tank.

In higher-wage industries, Minnesota also came out on top. The state saw a 38.6 percent growth in construction jobs while Wisconsin saw a 26 percent growth. And Minnesota had 17.3 percent growth in education and health care jobs, compared to 11 percent in Wisconsin.

Between 2010 and 2017, the inflation-adjusted median wage for women rose 5.4 percent in Minnesota, compared to just 0.8 percent in Wisconsin. The median wage for men rose 1.6 percent in Minnesota during that time, as the median wage for Wisconsin men fell 0.9 percent.

Wisconsin’s workforce problem is also highlighted in this report. It shows net domestic migration was positive in 2016-17 for Minnesota, with nearly 8,000 more U.S. residents moving to Minnesota than departing. In Wisconsin, net migration was negative in 2016-17, with over 2,000 more people leaving the state than entering it from elsewhere in the country.

See the full paper here: http://www.epi.org/publication/as-wisconsins-and-minnesotas-lawmakers-took-divergent-paths-so-did-their-economies-since-2010-minnesotas-economy-has-performed-far-better-for-working-families-than-wisconsin/