Wisconsin unemployment hit record low in December
MADISON — Preliminary estimates show unemployment in Wisconsin reached a record low in December.The state Department of Workforce Development released figures Thursday that show the unemployment rate in December was 3 percent.
US employers add modest 148,000 jobs; unemployment 4.1 pct.
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added 148,000 jobs in December, a modest gain but still enough to suggest that the economy entered the new year with solid momentum.The unemployment rate remained 4.1 percent for a third straight month, the lowest level since 2000, the Labor Department said Friday.For all of 2017, employers added nearly 2.1 million jobs, enough to lower the unemployment rate from 4.7 percent a year ago.
Wisconsin unemployment drops to 3.2 percent in November
MADISON — Wisconsin's unemployment rate is the lowest since 1999.The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday that the unemployment rate of 3.2 percent in November was down 0.2 percentage points from October.
US economy grew at 3.2 percent rate in third quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a 3.2 percent annual rate from July through September, slightly slower than previously estimated but still enough to give the country the best back-to-back quarterly growth rates in three years.The Commerce Department says the third quarter growth was revised down slightly from last month's estimate of 3.3 percent.
Abele, Lipscomb spar over service cuts as public weighs in on wheel tax
MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele's administration is proposing dramatic cuts in services if the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors won't agree to double the county's wheel tax to $60, a choice the board's chairman calls "absurd."Abele said Monday, October 30th that the cash-strapped county cannot pay for its current level of services without new revenue.
US unemployment claims fall to 222,000, lowest in 44 years
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since Richard Nixon was president.THE NUMBERS: The Labor Department said Thursday that claims for jobless aid dropped by 22,000 to 222,000, fewest since March 1973.
Firefighters, aldermen disapprove of budget plan: "Milwaukee is in one hell of a mess"
MILWAUKEE -- Firefighters from across the state are taking a stand against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's proposed cuts to public safety.
Mayor Barrett ahead of public hearing on budget: "This is not the budget I had hoped to introduce"
MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Common Council hosted a public hearing Monday evening, October 9th on Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's proposed 2018 city budget -- a plan that has drawn criticism over cuts to police and firefighters.
Unfriendly forecast: Rising pension costs cause bleak budget outlook
MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said this week he's frustrated with his own budget.
GOP Senate leader says he doesn't have votes to pass budget
MADISON — Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he doesn't have the 17 votes required yet to pass the state budget.Fitzgerald said Tuesday he thinks there are at least 15 senators who will vote for the $76 billion budget.
Votes Monday on school aid: Budget committee hopes to finish work in September
MADISON — Republicans who control the Legislature's finance committee finally resumed work on the stalled state budget Thursday, August 24th after two months off, promising to wrap up revisions to the spending plan within the next two weeks.The most significant action the Joint Finance Committee took Thursday was signing off on language eliminating the state portion of the property tax.
DOT delays Zoo Interchange bids as state lawmakers put budget talks on back burner
MADISON -- The state Department of Transportation has scrapped new bids on the massive Zoo Interchange project as lawmakers put the long-delayed state budget on the back burner and focus on Foxconn incentives instead.
Wisconsin unemployment unchanged at 3.1 percent
MADISON — Wisconsin's unemployment rate is unchanged for the month of June.The state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday that unemployment in June was 3.1 percent.
On Day 17 of budget impasse, Gov. Walker says "I'm confident it'll be (done) this summer"
MADISON -- Wisconsin is one of three U.S. states that don't have a budget, and the impasse may worsen Tuesday when Senate Republicans unveil their own spending plan independent from their Assembly counterparts.
Senate Republicans to introduce own state budget amid stalemate with Assembly GOP
MADISON — Senate Republicans are getting ready to introduce their own version of the state budget as their stalemate with Assembly Republicans over transportation funding drags on.Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald plans to introduce the spending plan at a news conference Tuesday, July 18th.
