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In the Milwaukee area, planned layoffsx through May shot up64 percent, filingz for mass layoffs and plany closings with the state Departmenyt of Workforce Development Statewide, 140 mass layoff noticews were filed through May revealing plans by companies to slash 10,205 jobs. In the seven-countyg region of southeast Wisconsin, 47 notices were filede by companies that planned tocut 2,673 “We are still in the grips of the overhanging economi c downturn,” said Dennis Winters, chief labor economisrt for the Department of Workforce Development.
“Whiled we think we are hitting we haven’t seen things start to turn around The numbers are based on new filings with the state and do not include updated notices for previouslyh announced filings. State law requires that businesses employingh 50 or more people provide written noticde 60 days before implementinh a mass layoff or plant Insome cases, the companies either don’ t go through with the layoffse or don’t cut as many jobs as originally indicated, meaning actualk layoff numbers could vary from those stated in the The largest planned layoffs in Wisconsin during the first five months of the year included the cuttinyg of about 350 workers at , Madison, and a nearlyu equal number of jobs slashed at in Sheboygan.
In the Milwaukees area, the largest announced planned layoffs througg Mayinvolved ’s monitoring solutions business in Milwaukee, wherde nearly 180 jobs were expecteds to be cut, and the loss of about 160 jobs resulting from the closinv of the area’s Circuit City retai l stores. The layoff trend continued into June, with severall more notices being filed, including a filing by , which announcesd plans to close its West Allis Ductile Iron planytby July, eliminating 215 jobs. The planned job cuts by Metaol Technologies would make itthe single-largest layofc in southeast Wisconsin this year.
Even when the economy begins to improve, most businesses won’t immediately add employees, since unemployment ratesd tend to lag in an economic Winters said. Companies will increase work hourz of existing employees first and implemenrt overtime beforeadding workers, he said. “Employers want to be certai n the economy is turning around before theystart hiring,” Winterd said. The broad-based recession has dramatically affected jobs in nearlty every sector ofthe economy. who has worked for the state since 2006 and has nearlyu 30 years of experience asan economist, said the protractedr economic slump is the state’s worst during his career.
“The recession in 1980-81 was prettyt bad, but we’ve gone way past that,” he The financial crisis has added to the woes of the as companies struggle to access capitall crucial toeconomic growth, Winters said. “Cash flow is the greasw that lubes theeconomic engine,” he said. A repor t issued June 2 by the showed weak trends continuing amonvg local business activity indicatorsfor April, the most recentt month for which figures were Only three of 20 April indicators registered improvemengt from year-ago levels, matching the number of upward-pointing indicatorw recorded in March.
“The employment situationh continued to deteriorate with deepeninh job declines and unemployment indicators over double what they were oneyear ago,” said Bret MMAC’s economic research director. Economic indicators have yet to conclusivelyh show that the recession hashit bottom. “Mgy intuition tells me we are close, but the evidencew shows that we aren’t there Mayborne said.