— The latest WMC survey finds fewer businesses are struggling to find workers amid high expectations for profitability in the coming six months.
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce yesterday released results from the Wisconsin Employer Survey, which tapped 153 executives by email and traditional mail at companies of all sizes from across the state. It found 63% of respondents were struggling to find workers, which is down from 72% one year ago and 68% in the summer. It’s far below the peak of 88% from winter 2022.
WMC notes the last time it was this low was in the winter of 2015, when 63.9% of respondents were struggling to fill positions.
Kurt Bauer, president and CEO of the association, says the “most probable explanation” is that demand for workers has slowed. Still, the labor shortage remains the top policy issue for respondents, tied with health care, the survey found.
While these challenges for businesses continue, WMC notes profitability results and expectations are strong. Eighty-five percent of respondents say their company was profitable in the last six months of 2024, and 96% predict they will be profitable over the first half of this year.
“Clearly, business leaders are more optimistic entering 2025 than they were a year ago, despite the reduced demand for workers,” Bauer said.
Meanwhile, respondents showed “modest optimism” on the state and national economy. The survey found 26% say the state economy is strong — up from 22% at this point last year — while 68% say it’s moderate and 6% say it’s weak. Just 18% say the U.S. economy is strong, though that’s improved from 10% last year. Another 61% say the U.S. economy is moderate and 19% say it’s weak.
Looking ahead, 63% expect the state’s economy will grow over the next six months while 34% expect no change. At the national level, 75% of respondents expect to see growth over the first half of 2025 while 21% expect it to remain “flat.”
When asked about the one thing the state government could do to help their business, 41% pointed to making health care more affordable. Twenty-three percent said reduce taxes, another 23% said reduce or reform regulations, 4% each said education reform and reduce spending.
— The Kenosha Area Business Alliance is touting the launch of a new STEM-focused high school within the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood.
KABA yesterday held a ribbon cutting for the LakeView Technology Academy alongside city officials, Gateway Technical College and the Kenosha Unified School District. The school recently moved from a Pleasant Prairie location to the KIN, and was announced last year as the first anchor project for the economic development area.
The Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood is a mixed-use project on more than 100 acres of vacant land in the city, which aims to develop the space into a top destination for key industries for the region. It was formerly occupied by the AMC/Chrysler plant, and is surrounded by five neighborhoods that were “greatly affected” by the plant’s closure in 2010, according to a master plan document.
Nicole Ryf, president of KABA, says the group wants Kenosha County to be the “premier destination” for new investment and talent in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor. She noted LakeView will provide a talent pipeline for local businesses, “transforming a formerly industrial neighborhood into a vibrant hub of education and innovation” and supporting students.
“Collaborating with key partners to relocate, expand, and improve our highest performing STEM high school in the center of our city is a concept that helps Kenosha County reach that vision,” Ryf said in a statement.
Through a partnership with Gateway Technical College, students get access to college instructors and coursework. The college offers classes in IT, advanced manufacturing and more during the day at the high school, along with evening courses in its electromechanical maintenance technician program.
The newly opened school, which will open for classes Tuesday, will keep a 400-student enrollment while expanding STEM programming for all KUSD high school students, the announcement shows.
See the release.
— An attorney for DNR told the state Supreme Court a lawsuit challenging the agency’s authority to regulate hazardous substances, including PFAS, would have serious consequences for public health and the environment while weakening the executive branch’s power.
But attorneys for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and Leather-Rich Inc. asserted the Department of Natural Resources must first go through the rulemaking process before designating PFAS as hazardous substances regulated under the state’s Spills Law.
Attorney Colin Roth, representing DNR, said a ruling in favor of WMC and Leather-Rich Inc. would “greatly hamstring DNR’s ability to protect public health and the environment” and “weaken the entire executive branch’s core power to interpret and execute the law.”
“Virtually all statutes require interpretation before agencies can administer them. If agencies cannot administer laws like this one without rulemaking, executive branch activity would grind to a halt,” Roth argued yesterday.
Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley noted state law requires “each statement of general policy and each interpretation of a statute” an agency “specifically adopts to govern its enforcement or administration of that statute” to go through the rulemaking process.
Roth countered that in most cases when an agency is interpreting the law, that is done by creating a guidance document to explain the law or provide guidance on how to interpret and apply it.
“I’m struggling with your interpretation of these statutes to see the distinction between guidance and a rule,” Rebecca Bradley responded, “Because the executive branch, I think you would agree, can’t do something different, can’t create law that the Legislature hasn’t sanctioned, if you will.”
Also during the hearing, conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn proposed a hypothetical example to attorney Delanie Breuer, representing Leather-Rich Inc., of a substance “everybody in the world agrees is hazardous.”
“Is your position that the DNR cannot take action on that until rulemaking is accomplished?” he asked.
Breuer said “yes,” adding, “I think rulemaking’s going to be a very easy endeavor in that case.”
Justice Jill Karofsky disagreed, interjecting: “I don’t think rulemaking is an easy endeavor in any case.”
Meanwhile, Lucas Vebber, representing WMC, gave the example of a milk spill to demonstrate what he presented as a lack of clarity in DNR’s hazardous substance regulations.
“The department has said that if a tank or truck of milk spills, it is certainly a hazardous substance discharge,” Vebber said. “But today, [Roth] said if you drop a gallon of milk, it’s not a hazardous substance discharge. So somewhere in the middle there, it becomes a hazardous substance discharge. But when, nobody knows.”
Liberal Justice Rebecca Dallet argued the executive branch needs to be able to interpret the law and apply it depending on the situation.
“What if they spill five gallons? What if they spill 10? What if they spill 20? What about almond milk? What about oat milk? That’s my favorite,” Dallet said.
“That’s not milk,” Rebecca Bradley quipped.
Before the case came before the Supreme Court, an appeals court in March upheld 2-1 Waukesha County Judge Michael Bohren’s decision finding the agency can’t require cleanup of hazardous materials because it failed to properly go through the rulemaking process.
— SHINE Technologies has entered a distribution agreement with Taiwanese nuclear medicine company Primo Biotechnology.
The Janesville business recently announced the agreement, which grants Primo exclusive rights to distribute SHINE’s Illumira product in Taiwan as well as other sales rights in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
Illumira, which contains the isotope lutetium-177, is used alongside a “cancer-seeking molecule” to target tumors and kill cancer cells with radiation while limiting damage to healthy cells. SHINE produces Lu-177 and other medical isotopes, and is developing fusion technology for various applications.
Primo will get “priority access” to the therapeutic isotopes, supplying nuclear medicine applications in these countries. Along with common and advanced radiopharmaceuticals, the business also provides pre-clinical research services, scientific consulting and more.
Dr. Ya-Yao Huang, CEO of Primo Biotechnology, says the agreement “marks a pivotal step in bringing precision and hope” to patients in the Pacific region.
“By partnering with SHINE, we ensure a stable supply of high-quality isotopes and advance cancer care in the region,” Huang said in a statement.
Meanwhile, SHINE is also expanding its Cassiopeia facility in Janesville to meet higher global demand for its radioisotopes.
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
See the release.
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TOPICS
AGRIBUSINESS
– Neenah’s Galloway Co. completes $70 million expansion to boost capacity for condensed milk
EDUCATION
– Lawrence University develops community apartments to provide housing, revenue stream
– Universities of Wisconsin reviewing guaranteed transfer policy
– LakeView Technology Academy opening in Kenosha’s innovation district
LABOR
– Hundreds of Wisconsin firms use H-1B visas to obtain foreign workers
– Wisconsin companies are finding it easier to hire and plan to hire more, WMC survey finds
MANAGEMENT
– Milwaukee Film announces new executive director
– ITU AbsorbTech names new president and CEO
MEDIA
– New book argues Racine’s labor movement history is a ‘blueprint for worker solidarity’
NONPROFIT
– Give BIG Green Bay selects 50 nonprofits for 8th annual fundraiser
REAL ESTATE
– $7M federal grant boosts affordable housing projects in Dane County
– Former Menomonee Valley coal storage site being redeveloped
REGULATION
– Green Bay advances Day Street Mill rezoning change over Georgia-Pacific’s request to delay
RETAIL
– ‘Wayne’s World’ car licorice dispenser is now real — and for sale
– When is Milwaukee Makers Market this year?
SMALL BUSINESS
– Owner of Third Coast Gourmet to close Third Ward location
SPORTS
– City Council to vote Tuesday on forgiving $1.6M Madison ice arena debt
TECHNOLOGY
– Milwaukee off-campus housing tech firm College Pads acquired
TRANSPORTATION
– Options for I-794 expected this spring
PRESS RELEASES
See these and other press releases
UW-Green Bay: Offers First Nations studies for professionals certificate