skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump threatens China with 50% additional tariffs, Flooding inundates Kentucky communities; New research exposes the devastating effects of solitary confinement; Groups archive federal science data as government websites go dark.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Israeli government promises to cooperate on tariffs. U.S. Secretary of State says markets are not crashing, just 'adjusting,' and budget legislation moving in Congress makes room for Trump's tax cuts.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural schools fear a proposed dismantling of the Department of Education, postal carriers say USPS changes will hurt rural communities most, fiber networks to improve internet may be supplanted by Musk's satellites, and it's time to PLAY BALL!

Report: WI economy rises on strength of workers' wage growth

play audio
Play

Wednesday, September 11, 2024   

A new report showed income inequality in Wisconsin is declining as lower-wage workers are seeing faster wage growth but Black, Latino and women workers still lag behind.

A study by the High Road Strategy Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found the state's job market hit record levels in the second quarter and the inflation-adjusted median hourly wage has increased by 97 cents.

Laura Dresser, associate director of the High Road Strategy Center at the University of Wisconsin Madison and the report's co-author, said the increase in the median wage is just making up for the period inflation ran ahead of earnings in 2022.

"In these last five years, lower-wage workers have seen their wages go up by 8%," Dresser reported. "In terms of purchasing power, real value, and high-wage workers have only had wages go up about 1%."

The State of Working Wisconsin 2024 report noted the number of jobs in Wisconsin has topped 3 million and unemployment remained steady at 3%. The study also found the rate of unionized workers in Wisconsin dropped by one-third between 2011 and 2023, the steepest decline in union membership across the Midwest region.

Despite the increase in wages, the report said significant wage gaps remain between white men and workers who are Black, Latino or female. Dresser pointed out Latinos earn about 33% less, Black workers make 25% less, and white women's pay lags 16% behind in the workplace.

"When you focus on improving the quality of jobs, especially at the bottom of the labor market, you also are looking to close racial and gender gaps in wages," Dresser explained. "Because it is Black and brown and women workers who are dominant in lower-wage jobs."

The report made some recommendations for Wisconsin lawmakers. It suggested raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour to help close the pay gap, rolling back the state's so-called "right to work" laws to restore union rights and increasing investments in child care and education to provide relief for families and employers.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Bumblebee colonies have annual life cycles, according to the ZYWang Lab at the University of Washington, where researchers study natural social behavior changes in aging bees. Current research examines how isolation affects these patterns, with implications for understanding solitary confinement's effects. (Pixabay/iira116)

Social Issues

play sound

Imagine being locked in a cell for 23 hours a day, under constant artificial light, with no human contact for months or even years. It is the reality …


Environment

play sound

Missouri ranks second in the nation for the number of farms, with more than 85,000. Beginning farmers in the state and across the nation may soon …

Social Issues

play sound

Latino media outlets in Arizona are coming together to ensure the Hispanic and Latino communities are informed and educated about their rights amid th…


Participants in Multnomah County's Nurse-Family Partnership program experience a 56% reduction in ER visits for accidents and poisonings. (KAMPUS/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Multnomah County plans major public health cuts to address a $21 million budget gap and the Oregon Nurses Association said the cuts put programs for f…

Social Issues

play sound

Black residents in Illinois are almost eight times more likely to be homeless than white people, with lack of livable wages and affordable housing …

Flooding in Frankfort almost reaches a basketball net Sunday as the Kentucky River is expected to keep rising. (Liam Niemeyer/Kentucky Lantern)

Environment

play sound

Frankfort is one of a number of communities across Kentucky grappling with a deluge of flash flooding from torrential rainfall over the past several d…

Social Issues

play sound

April is National Second Chance Month but across West Virginia, resources to help people leaving prison find gainful employment are dwindling…

Social Issues

play sound

April is Second Chance Month, with extra focus on helping people with a criminal past keep from becoming repeat offenders. In steering Minnesota …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021