OEA - Southeast Wisconsin Workforce Development Area (WDA)

Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth Counties

Contact the regional analyst: Elizabeth Falk

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

Regional Projections

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About the Southeast Workforce Development Area

The Southeast Workforce Development Area (WDA) is composed of three counties: Kenosha, Racine and Walworth Counties. Kenosha County, also known as the Kenosha Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), is a component of the larger Lake County – Kenosha Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA). Racine County, or Racine MSA, is also a component of the Milwaukee-Racine CMSA. Walworth County is not a member county of any metropolitan area.

Some quick facts about the Southeast WDA:

• The three counties combine for 1,161 square miles or about two percent of Wisconsin’s total area.
• The 2005 estimated population of the Southeast WDA is 456,096 residents, an increase of about 5.5 percent since 2000. The Southeast WDA represents about eight percent of Wisconsin’s population.
• The WDA labor force in 2005 numbered 239,266 with 226,391 of those persons employed. This resulted in an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent. The statewide average unemployment rate for 2005 was 4.7 percent.
• There were 184,013 non-farm jobs in the region in 2005.
• The 2005 average annual wages paid earned in the southeast region was $34,910. This was $592 lower than the statewide annual average.
• Per capita personal income for the region in 2003 was estimated to be $29,724, which was lower than the statewide figure of $30,685.

The manufacturing sector represented 21 percent of the southeast’s jobs and was its largest employing sector. The remaining industry employment composition is a follows: in descending order: trade, transportation and utilities, 15 percent; professional and business services 15 percent; government 15 percent; education and health services 13 percent; leisure and hospitality 11 percent; construction, mining and natural resources 4 percent; financial activities 3 percent and, transportation, warehousing and utilities 3 percent.

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Updated: September 25, 2009
Office of Economic Advisors

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