Brian Dake

Wisconsin’s labor market has slowed down over the last year, though unemployment has remained near historic lows, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the state Department of Workforce Development.

“The Wisconsin labor market has cooled a bit, along with the national economy,” said Scott Hodek, an economist for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. “Unemployment rates do remain historically low, though it has been slowly trending upwards.”

The state’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month. Wisconsin also continues to outperform the nation when it comes to both the unemployment rate and labor force participation.

But state data shows Wisconsin had 10,700 more unemployed people in April 2026 than in the same month of 2025.

Wisconsin added around 9,000 non-farm jobs over the month, but it wasn’t enough to offset losses over the past year, according to the report. The state lost about 12,800 non-farm jobs from April 2025 to April 2026, state data shows.

Between April 2025 and April 2026, Wisconsin lost 7,800 manufacturing jobs, while gaining 6,500 construction jobs, according to the report.

Hodek said the construction industry did experience a bit of a “blip” in April, losing 400 jobs compared to March.

“That may be interrupting a longer term trend, but I’d hesitate to do anything other than say it’s something to keep an eye on,” he said. “We’ve only seen a couple data points there, and I haven’t seen a lot of other indications so far that the construction trend is slowing as a bright spot for Wisconsin.”

Even though there are signs that the labor market is cooling, Hodek also said the state’s aging population continues contributing to a “worker quantity challenge.”

“Despite everything else that’s going on, the underlying labor challenge still remains demographic as the baby boomers age out of the labor force,” he said.

Hodek also said it’s difficult to know exactly which industries are being most affected by an aging workforce.

Existing home sales in Wisconsin rose for the second straight month in April, with both prices and sales climbing compared to last year, according to the Wisconsin REALTORS Association.

Sales in April were up 7.4% from April 2025, while the median price climbed to $340,000, a 6.3% increase over the past year. Over the last five years, the median price has increased by about 45%.

Affordability dropped 1.6% since April 2025. Statewide inventory remains tight, with just 3.7 months of supply, well below the level for a balanced market.

Wisconsin Realtors Association President Tom Larson said inventory would need to rise by nearly 62% to reach a balanced market. “For potential sellers, this is an excellent time to list as we move into the all-important peak summer market,” Larson said.

The full report can be found here.

Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), announced $60 million to expand access to high-speed internet in unserved communities through the State Broadband Expansion Grant Program. The grant funding is available to organizations, telecommunications utilities, or a city, village, town, or county partnering with a telecommunications provider, for the purpose of providing internet connectivity to more homes and businesses in Wisconsin.

This grant round is intended to close gaps by reaching locations not served by the federally funded Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, as well as providing improved broadband service to certain locations in the state. The PSC is now accepting applications for broadband construction projects in unserved areas of the state, specifically targeting locations that lack speeds of 100/20 Mbps. Additional information about the State Broadband Expansion Grant Program grant eligibility can be found on the PSC website.

The Wisconsin Broadband Office estimates that after removing locations set to receive improved fiber and fixed wireless service through BEAD or other programs, at least 30,000 locations in Wisconsin would remain unserved. These remaining locations require connectivity funding and stand to benefit from State Broadband Expansion Grant Program funds.

This announcement comes as, in December 2025, the federal government approved Wisconsin’s final BEAD Program proposal, which unlocked over $1 billion in federal investments secured under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden. Today, the PSC is currently administering the federally funded BEAD Program, with construction expected to begin Summer 2026.

Ambassador Jamieson Greer will host the G20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Wednesday, September 30 to Thursday, October 1.

At the G20 Trade Ministerial this fall, USTR will lead discussions with the G20 Trade Ministers on a wide array of issues, including ending forced labor, updating the Most-Favored Nation (MFN) Principle, denouncing weaponization of trade in food, and addressing structural excess capacity and production. The Trump Administration looks forward to working with our G20 partners to establish a global trading order based on fair, reciprocal, and balanced trade.

Canadian energy firm Enbridge can keep building a new stretch of its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in northern Wisconsin except in waterways where the company needs additional permits, a Bayfield County judge ruled Friday.

In Friday’s order, Bayfield County Circuit Court Judge John Anderson said the tribe and groups failed to persuade him that he should pause approvals for the project altogether.

“Enbridge’s permits previously granted are stayed only in relation to work areas along Line 5 for which Enbridge is required to obtain additional permits,” Anderson wrote.

Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner called the ruling an important decision that allows the company’s work to continue, saying Line 5 delivers fuel that’s critical for Midwest refineries.

“State permits for the project were approved after an exhaustive four-year review by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and then upheld after a year-long independent review by an administrative law judge. Federal permits have also been received from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” Kellner wrote.

Under the ruling, Enbridge can’t move ahead with construction of permanent structures to stabilize banks in four creeks where erosion could threaten water quality or exposure of new pipe that would be installed. The company and landowners applied for permits that have not yet been issued by the DNR.

Enbridge’s Line 5 carries up to 23 million gallons of oil daily from Superior across northern Wisconsin and Michigan to Ontario. The company proposed a 41-mile reroute of Line 5 after the Bad River Tribe sued in 2019 to shut down the pipeline on its lands. The project would cross about 200 waterways and affect around 100 acres of wetlands in Ashland and Iron counties.

The U.S. Department of Labor and its Office of Inspector General has announced a partnership in furtherance of President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order, “Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.”

“Unemployment-insurance systems nationwide face significant financial and performance failures. For too long, these problems have gone unchallenged. That ends now,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. “The Department of Labor is working alongside OIG agents to investigate potential fraud and misuse. Our mission is clear: Restore accountability and safeguard workers and taxpayers.”

This multi-agency partnership within the department demonstrates an unparalleled level of collaboration with the OIG with department program offices and its independent watchdog working shoulder-to-shoulder to stop fraud before taxpayer dollars are put at risk.

“We’re taking a proactive approach by working directly with the strike teams deployed by the department’s Employment and Training Administration – providing data and analytical capabilities and support, placing investigators at the front lines where the threat begins. Together with the acting secretary, we are committed to a zero-tolerance mission: ensuring not one fraudulent dollar leaves the building,” said U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito.

“This partnership gives us a direct line to Vice President Vance’s ‘Task Force to Eliminate Fraud,’ supercharging our investigations and prosecutions to deliver faster, stronger justice and put fraudsters behind bars,” D’Esposito added.

Acting Secretary Sonderling and Inspector General D’Esposito both serve on the “Task Force to Eliminate Fraud,” which is committed to fighting fraud, closing loopholes, enforcing eligibility rules, and protecting benefits for eligible Americans, while ensuring states administering unemployment insurance benefits do the same.

“Acting Secretary Sonderling and Inspector General D’Esposito are invaluable partners. Today’s announcement is a critical step toward stopping the theft from American taxpayers,” said Task Force Executive Director Scott Brady.

The resources and executive commitment dedicated by President Trump and Vice President Vance significantly enhance the resources provided to the DOL Office of Unemployment Insurance within ETA and the investigative capacity of OIG, ensuring those who exploit federal benefit programs are held accountable under the law.

Some of the most problematic state unemployment-insurance programs include California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. These six states combined are responsible for paying out nearly $19 billion annually in unemployment-insurance benefits.

In fiscal year 2025 alone, these six states issued more than $2.6 billion in improper unemployment-insurance benefits, including over $1.2 billion in fraudulent payments. Additionally, in fiscal year 2025, California, Massachusetts, and New York topped the list of states with the most fraud exposure.

A $1.8 billion Wisconsin tax relief and school funding package failed in the state Senate on Wednesday, ending a day of fast-moving but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations.

The State Assembly passed the bill earlier in the day after reconvening in the late afternoon following a lengthy recess. The measure then moved to the Senate, which delayed its start time by about six hours before taking up the proposal.

The Senate voted down the bill 15-18, with all Democrats opposed. The result effectively halts the plan, which needed approval from both chambers before advancing to the governor.

Republicans supported the package as a bipartisan compromise aimed at providing immediate relief to taxpayers and schools amid rising costs. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said earlier the deal balanced tax cuts with education funding and remained open to adjustments.

Evers said the proposal included more than $600 million for K-12 schools, including increased special education reimbursement, along with hundreds of millions in general school aids, property tax relief through technical college funding, direct payments to working families, and an end to state income tax on tips and overtime.

In a statement, Evers said Wisconsin students and taxpayers would miss out on needed investments, adding: “Wisconsin’s kids and schools aren’t going to get the investments they desperately need this year because… a few Republican and Democratic lawmakers chose to blow up a bipartisan plan.”

He added, “So many Wisconsinites feel left behind… And today, they’re right.”

The defeat leaves the proposal unresolved as lawmakers approach a Friday deadline for action.

U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in April, posting their biggest gain since early 2022, the latest indication that inflation was accelerating amid ​the war with Iran.

The Producer Price Index for final ‌demand surged 1.4% last month after an upwardly revised 0.7% advance in March, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday.

In the 12 months ⁠through April, the PPI jumped 6.0%. That was the ​largest increase since December 2022 and followed a 4.0% rise in March. ​Part of the surge in the year-on-year PPI rate ‌reflected last year’s low readings dropping out of the calculation.

The rise in inflation is becoming pervasive, posing a challenge for the Federal Reserve. The BLS reported on Tuesday that the Consumer Price ⁠Index rose further in April, with the annual inflation rate posting its largest gain in three years.

The U.S. central bank tracks the Personal Consumption ⁠Expenditures price indexes ‌for its 2% inflation target.

Prior to the PPI ⁠report, economists estimated PCE inflation, excluding the ​volatile food ‌and energy components, could rise by as much ​as 0.4% ⁠in April after gaining 0.3% in March. Estimates for the year-on-year increase in the so-called core PCE inflation were as high as 3.4%. It increased 3.2% in March.

After months of negotiation, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican leaders in the Legislature said Monday they’ve reached a deal that would spend down the state’s budget surplus on tax relief and education.

The roughly $1.8 billion deal, which is expected to go before lawmakers for a vote this week, includes $850 million in direct payments to taxpayers, and the elimination of state income tax for overtime pay and tipped earnings. It would also boost spending on K-12 education by $600 million.

That school funding figure is split between general school aid and increasing the state’s special education reimbursement rate, which has been a point of contention from Evers’ team since the passage last summer of the two-year state budget. Since that time, higher-than-expected costs of special education lowered the total amount received by school districts from the state.

The deal would spend down much of the state’s projected surplus — which the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau had previously estimated at roughly $2.5 billion — but leave the state’s rainy day fund untouched.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Evers touted the deal as a win for schools, with compromises for Republican tax priorities.

“Money for schools is obviously the most important thing for me,” Evers said. “We’re in a position to actually compromise and have Republicans and Democrats — at least at the leadership level — getting something done.”

In separate statements, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said the deal would put the state’s surplus toward tax relief.

“We’re sending (the surplus) back to help families with the pressure of increasing costs, reward hard work, and to continue investing in schools to help stabilize rising property taxes,” said Vos.

“This deal will provide immediate relief with $600 in surplus refund payments and provide permanent property and income tax relief for Wisconsin families,” said LeMahieu in his statement.

While the state Legislature has adjourned for the year, both the Senate and Assembly would need to pass this deal for it to become law. That means that a special session of the Legislature will be called. According to the governor’s office, that path will be expedited, with the Legislature’s budget committee expected to move it forward on Tuesday, and the full Legislature set to debate it as early as Wednesday.