MITCHELL SCHMIDT
Wisconsinâs return to near pre-pandemic unemployment levels has brought with it the reemergence of one of the biggest challenges facing some of the stateâs largest industries â a workforce shortage.
The need for workers in multiple sectors of the economy has Republicans and the stateâs largest business lobby calling on the state to end its participation in enhanced federal pandemic unemployment benefits, which they say creates a disincentive to work.
Liberals point to long-term structural changes as an opportunity to provide higher wages, better benefits, more skills-based training and adequate child care offerings â a need that was drastically amplified with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic â as necessary to get more Wisconsinites into the workforce.