From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Healthcare and social assistance has now overtaken manufacturing as Wisconsin’s largest sector by employment, based on preliminary data for 2025.
That’s according to a new report from Forward Analytics, which shows manufacturing employment in the state has dropped from 560,000 in 2001 to fewer than 460,000, based on the latest available figures. At the same time, healthcare and social assistance has grown from 321,000 jobs to more than 463,000.
While the margin of just 4,933 jobs is narrow and based on preliminary figures, authors note this result has been signaled for years as manufacturing employment has contracted both in Wisconsin and nationwide.
Steady growth in healthcare and social assistance has been driven in part by rising employment in social assistance in particular, doubling from about 48,000 to just under 100,000 from 2001-2025.
Meanwhile, the ambulatory and outpatient care subsector has grown by 54%, from about 92,000 to nearly 142,000. The hospital sector’s employment has risen by 36% from 104,000 to 141,000 over the same period.
And despite the “critical” role of nursing and residential care facilities in taking care of Wisconsin’s aging population, jobs in this area have only grown by 5.6% over the study period — well below the national rate of 24.8%. Even in the Midwest, the state’s growth in this subsector has been eclipsed by Minnesota, whose nursing and residential care workforce grew by 46% over a similar timeframe.
Authors note demographic pressures are only expected to worsen in the coming years, placing greater demand on the subsector that’s seen the least growth over the last two decades.
“Wisconsin will need more of these workers as its population ages, and the current trajectory of growth within the sector is not aligned with where the demand will be the greatest,” they wrote.
The report spotlights another challenge, noting the subsector with the fastest growth, social assistance, has the lowest wages in the sector with an average of $30,184. By contrast, job growth in the higher-paying hospitals and ambulatory care settings — ranging from $77,000 to $93,000 — has been slower
“The aggregate employment numbers tell an optimistic story, but the composition of the growth tells a more nuanced one,” authors wrote.
These trends have played out amid relatively slow overall job growth for Wisconsin, whose total employment has risen 8.3% from about 2.7 million in 2001 to about 2.9 million in 2024. That’s less than half the national rate of 19.6%, and places the state at 11th lowest for overall employment growth among U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
— Wisconsin has more hospitals with top ratings for nurse communication than any other state, according to new data being touted by the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
The group today rolled out findings from Becker’s Hospital Review based on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or HCAHPS. The standardized national survey of patients was conducted from July 2024 to June 2025.
These figures from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show 44 hospitals in the state got five-star ratings for nurse communication, exceeding Pennsylvania at No. 2 with 42 top-rated hospitals, Texas at No. 3 with 33 and Ohio at No. 4 with 32.
The ratings, which are based on publicly reported measures, indicate patient sentiment on how their nurses explained things to them, listened to them and “treated them with courtesy and respect,” according to WHA.
WHA President and CEO Kyle O’Brien says the state’s No. 1 placement on the list reflects both the efforts of individual nurses and the support provided by hospitals and health systems to enable effective communication.
“At a time when workforce challenges continue to strain hospitals and health systems across the nation, Wisconsin hospitals continue to prioritize resources on investments that will help our workforce communicate effectively with patients and deliver the exceptional care our communities depend on,” he said in a statement.
Nurse wages in the state are in the top quartile nationally, WHA notes, adding hospitals provided nearly $400 million in education and loan forgiveness programs in 2024. That’s 26% more than in the prior year.
Despite Wisconsin’s strong showing in the ratings, O’Brien argues “we cannot take this ranking for granted,” noting nurses and other providers are spending more time dealing with “regulatory burden” from insurers and the government.
He says insurance companies denying previously authorized care as well as prior authorization have “direct negative impacts on patients but also are a distraction” from patient care.
See the release below.
— GenoPalate has added blood biomarker analysis services to its platform, the Milwaukee-based personalized nutrition company announced.
With the new update to the platform, clients of GenoPalate can now upload their blood test results and get results on gaps in their nutrition based on the additional data. That’s in addition to the platform’s existing genetic and lifestyle assessments, giving a more complete picture of the body’s needs, according to the company.
For those without recent bloodwork to submit, GenoPalate has a partnership with Quest Diagnostics through which its clients can get recommendations for testing options.
Dr. Asif Naseem, the company’s chairman and CEO, notes nutritional needs are affected by diet, lifestyle, stress, physical activity and other factors.
“By adding blood biomarker analysis, we are building a more complete and dynamic model of personalized nutrition around both a person’s evolving biology and what their body needs today,” he said in the announcement.
The expansion comes after the business recently rolled out research showing its genetics-based nutrition recommendations were linked with “substantially” higher rates of health improvement.
See more in the release below.
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– GenoPalate: Expands personalized nutrition platform with blood biomarker analysis
