Confidence in the state economy has dropped sharply among Wisconsin business leaders over the past six months, according to the latest Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce survey.
WMC’s Wisconsin Employer Survey found 22% of responding business leaders rank the state economy as strong — well below the 39% seen in a survey from six months ago.
“A WMC Board Member commented at a recent meeting that ‘we may not be in a recession, but we are certainly in something,’ and I think that perfectly fits the state of our economy,” WMC President and CEO Kurt Bauer said in a statement. “Optimism is falling. Wage growth is slowing. Now hiring signs are coming down. It is clear that record inflation and rising interest rates have hit both employers and their workers.”
Meanwhile, just 10% of state business respondents rated the national economy as strong while 28 percent said it’s weak. That’s an 18% increase from one year prior, according to WMC. And the group notes the portion of those saying the U.S. economy is strong is below even the 12% seen in the summer 2020 survey, conducted during the COVID-19 economic shutdowns.
Seventy-two percent of respondents say they’re having trouble hiring employees, though that’s declined from 85 percent one year earlier.
At the same time, expectations of wage growth have declined somewhat over the past year, WMC found. The percentage of businesses planning to raise wages by less than 3% has risen from 17% to 24%, while the percentage of those planning to boost wages by more than 4% has fallen from 34% to just 14%.
“Economic concerns are requiring employers to cut back in a variety of ways,” Bauer said. “But, the state’s longterm demographic challenges continue to impact hiring. Even in the face of a potential recession, businesses are still having a hard time finding talent.”
Still, expectations about future state economic growth are more optimistic than for the national economy, the survey found.
While 37% expect moderate growth in the state economy over the next six months, 53% expect it to remain flat and 9% expect a decline. By comparison, those figures for the U.S. economy are 32%, 47% and 20%, respectively.
This survey is conducted twice a year by WMC. For the latest outlook, the group surveyed 180 Wisconsin employers “of all sizes, industries and geographic locations,” according to the report. It was sent via email and traditional mail, with about half responding by each of these methods.
See the full survey results: https://www.wisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CEO-Survey-Report_Winter-2024_ECONOMY-WORKFORCE.pdf
–By Alex Moe
