Wisconsin had record high employment at end of 2024 and these industries had biggest job growth

Posted by author February 12, 2025 Jobs

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More people are working in Wisconsin right now than there have been since the state has been keeping records.

In January, the state Department of Workforce Development reported that Wisconsin ended last year with 3,076,500 people working, another record. The labor force participation rate is around 66%.

For the last eight months, Wisconsin employment has continued to grow. It’s a streak that doesn’t have much precedent.

“The Wisconsin employment continues to set new highs, unemployment claims remain near historic lows, and this all sets up for 2025 to hold a lot of promise for the state,” said Dennis Winters, chief economist for the DWD, on Jan. 23.

The state gained roughly 23,400 jobs in 2024.

Here are some of the areas that had the biggest job growth, and the sectors that contracted:

Service sector

The service sector added about 11,300 jobs in 2024 going from 2,405,500 to 2,414,800 employees working in Wisconsin.

Mining, logging and construction

Mining, logging and construction added about 1,600 in 2024 going from 144,500 in January to 146,100 employees in December.

Goods producing

The “goods producing” sector grew about 3,100 jobs in 2024 going from 624,200 in January to 627,300 in December.

Trade, transportation and utilities

Trade, transportation and utilities workers increased by 4,400 from 120,800 in January to 123,400 December.

Wholesale

Wholesale trade saw a large increase of 6,900 employees from 129,900 in January to 136,800.

Here are some industries that contracted:

Retail

Retail had roughly 302,500 people employed in January, but that number dropped to 297,400, a loss of about 5,100.

Finance

The finance industry lost about 3,500 jobs from 159,400 in January to 155,900 in December.