WED AM News: Manufacturing, construction employment expected to contract this year, DOR reports; Proponents of cigar bar bill testify at public hearing

June 18, 2025

— Manufacturing and construction employment in Wisconsin is projected to shrink this year as the state’s overall labor market “continues to grow at a modest but steady rate.”

That’s according to the state Department of Revenue’s economic forecast for May, which shows job growth in Wisconsin this year is expected to be focused in education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and other services.

Report authors note “unusually high uncertainty” is shaping economic forecasts as tariffs present a top risk for the economy.

The report shows state job growth in 2024 has been revised downward from 0.9% to 0.6% for overall employment and from 0.7% to 0.4% for private employment, based on the state’s Current Employment Statistics data. These figures show state employment rose by 0.5% in the first quarter of this year compared to one year earlier, which falls below the U.S. rate of 1.2%.

Total state employment is projected to rise by 0.7% this year and 0.2% next year followed by “minimal growth thereafter,” in line with the national trend, DOR says.

State unemployment averaged 3% in 2024, below the national average of 4%, the report shows. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is expected to peak at 4.1% in 2027, “outperforming the national trend.”

Meanwhile, DOR reports personal income in the state rose 4.9% last year, exceeding the Great Lakes region’s average of 4.6% but fell below the national rate of 5.3%. Income growth is being driven by higher net earnings and personal transfer receipts, the report shows.

Looking ahead, the state’s nominal personal income is expected to increase 4% this year, along with a 3.7% boost to wages and salaries and a 4.7% increase in wage supplements. At the same time, personal income growth is “projected to exceed 4.0% annually over the forecast horizon” while average wage and salary growth is forecast at 4.1%.

DOR notes S&P Global is holding to its outlook that no recession will occur this year, as “below-trend but positive” domestic growth continues.

“This view is supported by improved financial conditions: equity markets have exceeded expectations, the S&P 500 volatility index has declined sharply, and credit spreads have narrowed — all signs of reduced market risk,” authors wrote.

The forecast makes several assumptions, including that the debt ceiling will be raised this year and 255,000 federal employees will be laid off. Plus, it anticipates 2017 tax cuts will be extended and the domestic corporate tax rate will be reduced to 15%.

See the report.

— Proponents of a bipartisan bill to pave the way for more cigar bars in Wisconsin said at a public hearing that the legislation would help boost business.

But the American Cancer Society spoke against the bill yesterday, arguing it would undermine the state’s smoke-free air law.

AB 211 would exempt tobacco bars from an early 2000s-era law banning smoking in most public places in Wisconsin. Specifically, the measure would exempt tobacco bars that existed on or after June 4, 2009, only allow cigar and pipe smoking, and aren’t a retail food establishment. Tobacco bars that existed on June 3, 2009, are already exempt from the smoking ban under current law.

Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Fox Crossing, said the legislation “supports small business and economic growth.”

“It is a pro-business legislation, allowing growth while preserving public health standards. Crucially, this bill in no way is weakening the statewide smoking ban,” he said.

Sara Sahli, government relations director for the American Cancer Society Action Network, said the legislation is “substantially more comprehensive and more harmful than it looks.” She disagreed with Gustafson, saying the bill would undermine the current smoking ban.

She said the bill would allow for the smoking of little cigars, which she called “brown cigarettes.” Little cigars contain tobacco, usually have a filter, and are about the same size and shape as cigarettes. The main difference between little cigars and cigarettes is that little cigars are wrapped in a tobacco leaf or other substance containing tobacco, while cigarettes are wrapped in paper. Little cigars are considered cigars for tax purposes in Wisconsin.

Sahli also said it’s not clear who would be responsible for regulating the 15% sales threshold to be considered a tobacco bar.

“Wisconsin would need to create new procedures to track the location and revenue of these tobacco bars. This bill does not put any of those procedures in place,” Sahli said.

Meanwhile, Brothers Helping Brothers co-founder Delorean Walls spoke in support of the bill. He runs a men’s support group that meets weekly at Prohibition Spirits and Cigar Lounge in Green Bay. He said the group is helping prevent men like himself from suicide, and having more cigar bars around the state would help spread that work.

“What looks better in my mouth — a cigar or a .45?” Walls said.

— WARF is seeking commercial partners to help develop a new method for tracking living cells, which has applications in developing cell therapies.

UW-Madison researchers created this method, which uses an imaging technique called positron emission tomography or PET to track cells within the body. By chemically modifying structures on the surface of cells through a process called radiolabeling, this approach results in “simpler and more powerful” cell tracking.

An overview from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation notes cell therapy offers a “novel and promising approach” to treating a wide array of diseases, ranging from cancer and diabetes to heart attacks and arthritis. This type of therapy uses genetically engineered white blood cells to fight disease.

Authors note tracking cell dynamics within the body is a “key component” for creating new cell therapies, and the new technique “could significantly enhance the development capabilities for accurate, efficacious and safe” treatments. That includes stem cell-based therapies and others.

Its applications for cell therapy development include selecting patients, predicting responses to treatment, evaluating toxicity and more, WARF says. The technique can also be used in quality control for manufacturing cell therapies.

The approach increases the stability of radiolabeled cells and creates a greater “labeling yield,” making it easier for PET scans to detect smaller numbers of injected cells as they move through the body.

“By facilitating accurate and precise preclinical and clinical studies, this technology may accelerate the translation of cell therapies to humans,” authors wrote.

The technology was created by Reinier Hernandez, an assistant professor of medical physics whose work aims to solve problems across the biomedical research field and create new life-saving products.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— Glendale-based battery systems manufacturer Clarios is “actively assessing site options” across the country for a planned production facility and technology campus.

The company yesterday announced the plans for the project, which will include new “supercapacitor” system production. This advanced energy storage technology is used in AI data centers, military applications and smart vehicles, according to the release.

The announcement notes supercapacitors are largely made in China, with “very limited” domestic production. Clarios has a $6 billion strategy for advancing development of this technology in the United States, including $1 billion allocated for “next generation” technologies.

“This announcement expands our American manufacturing capabilities to serve our customers with cutting edge technology and help secure supply chains in the U.S.,” Clarios CEO Mark Wallace said in a statement.

See the release.

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