Jobs Outlook Bleak, But Not in Muskego

The United States added only 54,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate of 9.1 percent didn't show any major change, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Job gains continued in professional and business services, health care and mining, the BLS press release stated, but employment declined in other major private-sector industries and in local government. 

The state doesn't have May numbers available yet,but a summary of April's stats showed Metro Milwaukee adding 2,700 jobs, according to the Wisconsin
Department of Workforce Development, continuing four months of job
growth.

However, the state's 12 metro areas saw decreases in their unemployment rates. And for the state's municipalities with at least 25,000 residents, all saw drops in unemployment rates. (Muskego's numbers were not available.)

In Muskego, the news anecdotally is good.

"We're always looking for waitresses.  We open at 11 a.m. every day," so they need help for lunches and dinners, said Bob Hoorman, owner of the High Tide Restaurant.

Keith Hammitt, owner of Muskego Tire/Firestone agreed, saying, "I'm looking for employees, full and part-time.  We have an opening in general service, and we work with students and coops.  (We need to) get people to stop in and we'll see if we can find something for them."

Pick and Save has also had a sign up for four or five weeks advertising the need for employees.  "We need 10 or so additional employees for all different jobs," said their manager (name withheld).  However, these jobs are minimum wage positions.  

In addition, the statistics show that Waukesha County is 11^th in the county in terms of the lowest unemployment rates. Waukesha County had a 6.4 percent unemployment rate in April, compared to 7.1 percent in March and 7.9 percent in April 2010.

“Our employers are beginning to snap back from the recession,” said Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas. “I am glad to hear they are snapping back faster than some of the other parts of the country.”

The worst county in Wisconsin in terms of unemployment rate is Menomonie County, which is at 16.8 percent in April, an increase from 13.4 percent in March and 15.7 percent in April 2010.

Vrakas said, “It is great news for Waukesha County. Obviously we want to see unemployment go down and jobs increase all over the state and the nation, but I think Waukesha County is a place where people want to be. I think we are finding more and more that our quality of life is very stable and the amenities that we have got here are plentiful.”

Vrakas noted that Waukesha County is one of the few counties to have a Triple-A bond rating in the state. It also is one of eight counties in the state without a county sales tax and its county government spends the lowest per capita compared to counties throughout Wisconsin, Vrakas said.

Across the state, La Crosse, Madison, Racine, Sheboygan and Wausau also added jobs, DWD said in a press release, while Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay and Oshkosh-Neenah experienced decreases in April.