Wisconsin sees slight construction growth over last year, industry jobs excel

Several Wisconsin counties saw slight growth in new construction over the last year while a dozen saw less than 1% growth, according to a state revenue department report. Meanwhile, construction was among employment sectors which exceeded 2019 levels, according to a separate report. 

State of Wisconsin net construction growth was 1.71%, with Kenosha County leading with a 3.48% increase, a report from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue showed. Runner-up was Adams County with 2.83% and St. Croix County at 2.8%. Wisconsin’s largest counties, Dane and Milwaukee, were at 2.52% and 1.1%, respectively. A dozen counties in the northern or western parts of the state saw a construction increase of less than 1% over last year. 

In Wisconsin, net new construction in 2022 totaled up to $11.2 billion, the report showed. Last year the equalized value totaled $654.4 billion. 

Construction was one of several employment sectors that had higher hiring levels in the Badger State than in 2019, along with transportation, warehousing, finance, insurance and professional services, a Wisconsin Policy Forum July 2022 report showed. Total state employment was down by 69,428 jobs in December 2021 relative to December 2019, the report added. Transportation and warehousing had a 6.3% employment increase from 121,404 to 129,015 in the same time period. 

Meanwhile, the state’s unemployment rate was 3.1% in August, below the national rate of 3.7, a Department of Workforce Development report showed. A total of 5,500 jobs were added over the month and increased by almost 50,000 over the year from the previous August. The state added 6,700 construction jobs in the year, adding up to 132,900 jobs in August’s preliminary numbers, the report showed.