GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce says there are challenges ahead for businesses across the state in 2022.
Nick Novak with WMC says businesses are grappling with rising inflation and a labor shortage.
“Inflation is rising at a faster rate than it has in 40 years,” Novak told WTAQ. “That’s a big concern for Wisconsin businesses, who are seeing an increase in costs.”
It’s not a problem that’s easy to fix, either.
“We’re hearing that inflation isn’t transitory,” said Novak. “This is going to be here for a while.”
There are over 103,000 jobs currently open in the state, and not enough workers to fill them.
“One thing we can do is work with policy makers to attract more people to Wisconsin,” Novak said. “There are simply not enough people to fill the jobs we have.”
In good news for workers, wages are rising across the state. Novak says preliminary evidence says wages could go up faster this year than they did last year.
