OEA - Milwaukee Workforce Development Area (WDA)

Milwaukee County

Contact the regional analyst: Elizabeth Falk

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Data Dashboard contains statewide and regional analyses on current issues coupled with easy to use data tools, all at your fingertips.

Regional profile (PDF, 130KB) contains detailed labor market information for the entire region. Revised April 2005.

County Profiles contains detailed labor market information for individual counties within the entire state.

Regional Projections

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About Milwaukee County

The Milwaukee Workforce Development Area (WDA) is the only WDA in the state that consists of a single county, Milwaukee County. This distinction is fitting when one recognizes that this county has traditionally served as the major driver of Wisconsin’s economy and is the hub of the state's population and labor force.

Some quick facts about Milwaukee County:

• Milwaukee County's land area is 242 square miles and is one of the smallest counties in the state, geographically.
• Milwaukee County’s population was 939,358 in 2004 and is the most populous county in the state. The City of Milwaukee has 593,920 residents as of 2004.
• Milwaukee County accounted for 16% of the state's labor force in 2003 and about 17% of the state's population in 2004. Almost one of every five jobs in Wisconsin is in Milwaukee County.
• The labor force in Milwaukee County registered 487,689 participants in 2003; 452,886 of these residents were employed.
• There were an estimated 512,000 non-farm jobs located in Milwaukee County in 2003, which outnumbered the county’s employed residents and attracted a significant amount of commuters from outside of the county.
• The annual average wage paid in Milwaukee County in 2003 was $37,942, with the highest average earnings by industry found in the information sector ($50,939). Milwaukee County ranks the second highest of the state's 72 counties in overall, annual average wages paid.

While the county has historically been dominated by the manufacturing sector, particularly in durable goods production, recent years have been marked by a period of economic diversification in the region. In 2003, manufacturing accounted for 13 percent of total employment. The remaining industry sectors’ compositions of total employment are as follows: education and health services, 24 percent; trade, transportation, and utilities, 19 percent; professional and business services, 14 percent; leisure and hospitality, nine percent; financial activities, eight percent; public administration, five percent; other services, three percent; construction, two percent; information, two percent; and natural resources, less than one percent.

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The linked PDF files require the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have the most current version, you can download Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

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Updated: September 16, 2008
Office of Economic Advisors