Wisconsin manufacturing companies added 5,796 jobs from July 2013 to July 2014, a 1 percent increase. It’s the third annual manufacturing jobs gain for the state, according to the 2015 Wisconsin Manufacturers Register.
The Manufacturers Register is a database and directory published by Manufacturers’ News Inc.
According to Manufacturers’ News, there are now 10,977 manufacturers who employ 574,347 workers in Wisconsin.
The statewide jobs gains in 2014 were attributable to the food products industry, which saw a 3 percent increase in employment, the report said. Food products companies encompass 68,592 jobs in the state, the second highest industry in industrial employment behind the industrial machinery sector, which is at 102,734.
In Milwaukee, however, there were 48,132 manufacturing employees, down 5.2 percent from 2013. In Waukesha, manufacturing jobs were up 1.7 percent year-over-year.
“Manufacturers in Wisconsin are making gains across a variety of sectors,” said Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based publishing company, which has been surveying the industry since 1912. “The state’s educated labor pool, lower business costs compared to its neighbors, and flourishing agricultural sector continue to draw investment and support industrial growth.”
